Thailand school shooting: Student kills six near Bangkok, police probe motive

A student opened fire at Debsirin Nonthaburi School, leaving at least six people dead. Conflicting official accounts deepened the shock as police investigated the motive and casualty toll.

In Short

• The attack unfolded at Debsirin Nonthaburi School in Nonthaburi province
• Students sheltered inside classrooms until police escorted them out safely
• Officials gave conflicting casualty figures, complicating the immediate public picture

A student opened fire at a high school outside Bangkok on Friday, killing at least six people and injuring several others, according to Thai police.

The shooting took place at Debsirin Nonthaburi School in Nonthaburi province, northwest of the Thai capital. Authorities gave differing accounts of the death toll, the number of injured and the condition of the shooter, and those details could not immediately be reconciled.

Royal Thai Police spokesperson Trairong Piwpan told The Associated Press that the shooting happened at the school. A witness told reporters that students hid inside a classroom after hearing gunshots from another building. They stayed there until police officers knocked on the door and cleared a way for them to leave.

About an hour after the shooting, people were seen outside the school comforting one another, while police and first responders moved around inside the campus.

Trairong told Channel 3 that the shooter was being hospitalised in serious condition and that 15 other people were injured, including two who were in critical condition. He said three teachers and three students were killed.

Health Minister Pattana Promphat, however, said 22 people were injured, with nine in critical condition. He said some people were hurt in incidents such as falls, and it was not immediately clear how many had been shot.

Deputy Interior Minister Polapee Suwunchwee told reporters at the scene that five teachers had died. He also said the shooter had killed his two grandparents at home before going to the school, and that the student later died at a hospital.

Trairong said the motive was still under investigation. He said the gun was believed to have been taken from a member of the student's family.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul offered his condolences and said he had ordered the relevant officials to take care of the victims.

In February, a 17-year-old stole a gun from police and opened fire at a public high school in southern Thailand, briefly taking people hostage in a two-hour attack that killed one person and injured two others. In 2023, a 14-year-old boy was accused of a shooting at a major shopping mall in Bangkok.

The attack at Debsirin Nonthaburi School left at least six people dead and several others injured, while officials continued to investigate the motive and reconcile conflicting details about the casualties and the shooter's condition.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends