Post by : Badri Ariffin

A 14-year-old student killed at least five people and himself in a shooting at Debsirin Nonthaburi School outside Bangkok on Friday, August 7, in Thailand’s deadliest mass killing in nearly four years, police said.

The victims killed inside the school were all teachers and staff. Police said the teenager fired at least 26 bullets during the attack using a gun that belonged to his grandfather. Another 34 rounds were recovered.

The shooting sent students rushing out of the school as emergency teams arrived to treat the wounded. Teachers were seen embracing one another and crying as injured people were taken away in ambulances.

Thai PM Says Attack Was Planned

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the 14-year-old suspect had been under stress linked to his schooling and that the attack appeared to have been planned.

Anutin told reporters that police had spoken to one of the teenager’s close friends, who said the suspect had been experiencing stress.

“His actions also suggested that he had clearly planned” the assault, Anutin said.

He also stressed that the teenager did not fit the profile of a street criminal or robber and said the incident was not simply a matter of school security.

“He is not a street criminal, he is not a robber. This really has nothing to do with security measures in the school,” Anutin said when asked about improving security at schools.

The prime minister said the firearm used in the shooting was registered and had been kept at a house, but the teenager somehow obtained access to it.

Anutin said more than 30 people were injured, with about nine of them in critical condition.

Students Flee as Gunfire Erupts

Students streamed out of Debsirin Nonthaburi School, located on the northwestern outskirts of Bangkok, while emergency workers treated the injured.

Images circulated by emergency workers showed one person lying on a stretcher outside an ambulance while another was being treated by a medic.

Thongchai Thanakat, a motorcycle-taxi driver who has worked near the school for 20 years, said he was waiting outside to pick up passengers when he heard more than 10 gunshots.

He said he then saw large numbers of students running out of the school.

“Some of them weren't even wearing shoes,” he told reports.

Emergency worker Kiatikhun Verapongpradith, 47, said his team arrived while the shooting was still taking place. They treated students who had suffered injuries to their backs, chests and arms.

The emergency team also found a teacher dead on an upper floor of the school. In another room, they found a female teacher with wounds to her chest and arm.

Shooter Dies After Self-Inflicted Gunshot

Kiatikhun said emergency workers were called to treat the teenage shooter after hearing what appeared to be the final shot.

“When we got up there, we checked his pulse, he still had one, so we started CPR,” Kiatikhun said.

The teenager had shot himself on the right side of his head and collapsed.

Police said the suspect had used his grandfather’s firearm during the attack. Photos published by local media showed the teenager wearing a purple school uniform and carrying a black cross-body bag, with bullet casings visible on the ground.

Student Says Suspect Appeared Troubled

Purin Khumchoo, 17, a student who said he was among those who narrowly avoided being shot, described the teenager as someone he believed was troubled.

“He was my junior, but I had a feeling that he was a troubled kid,” Purin told reports outside the school.

He said friends who knew the teenager had told him that the student was interested in the FBI and guns and had been bullied by other students.

Purin said the teenager appeared highly composed when holding the weapon.

“When I saw him aiming the gun at me, I thought he looked very professional, as if he had been trained for a long time,” he said.

Education Ministry Promises More Support and Security

Education Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong said authorities would provide mental health assistance to students following the shooting.

He also said security measures at educational institutions would be strengthened.

“We haven't checked whether students have brought weapons to school. Our level of security is not that tight,” Prasert told reporters at the school.

The school had about 3,100 students and 147 teachers during the 2025 academic year, according to district authorities.

Thailand's Second School Shooting This Year

The Debsirin Nonthaburi incident is the second school shooting reported in Thailand this year.

In February, a teacher was killed and a student was injured in a shooting at a school in southern Thailand.

“This is terrible for something like this to happen,” Anutin said. “I'm sad for those who died and sad for something like this to happen in our country.”

The prime minister also pledged to introduce a new firearms control law.

Thailand's History of Deadly Shootings

Thailand has experienced several deadly shootings in recent years, with children also among the victims.

The country's worst recent mass killing by a single perpetrator occurred in 2022, when a former policeman carried out a three-hour gun-and-knife attack in northeastern Thailand. The attack killed 36 people, including 22 children who were stabbed while sleeping at a daycare centre.

In July 2025, a gunman killed five people, including security guards and a vendor, at a Bangkok market before taking his own life.

In February 2026, a teacher was killed in the southern city of Hat Yai when a shooter opened fire at the school where she worked.

Following that incident, Anutin, who was interior minister at the time, ordered several gun-control measures. These included a temporary suspension of new firearm licences, restrictions on imports and a ban on people under 20 from using shooting ranges.

Longer-term measures included requiring medical certificates to assess the mental health and psychological condition of gun owners, along with specified validity periods for some firearm licences.

Thailand Has Millions of Civilian Firearms

The Small Arms Survey estimated that Thailand had about 10.3 million firearms in civilian possession, equivalent to around 15 guns for every 100 residents.

The latest school shooting has renewed attention on firearm access, school safety and support for students following a deadly attack carried out by a 14-year-old student.

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