A 14-year-old student killed seven people and wounded 22 others on Thursday after opening fire at his home and then at a school in Nonthaburi province on the outskirts of Bangkok. Nine of the injured are in critical condition. Also, the shooter took his own life at the scene.
Thailand’s health minister said the teenager is believed to have shot and killed his grandparents at home before arriving at the local branch of the Debsirin School, where he killed five teachers. Police were deployed during the active shooting as authorities warned people to stay away from the area and urged those trapped inside the building to hide and wait for rescuers.
A seventh-grade student who fled the building told the BBC she was in class when she saw the shooter walking from room to room. When he reached her classroom, he shot the teacher standing near the entrance. She said she could not see anything after that. Another student told Reuters he had initially mistaken the gunshots for firecrackers.
“There were many shots: bang bang bang. Then it went quiet. Then it started again,” he said.
The 9mm handgun used belonged to the shooter’s grandfather, a former teacher, according to police. Students and staff were seen fleeing the grounds in panic. Other schools in the area suspended classes and sent students home early.
The Debsirin School, founded in Bangkok in 1885, is one of Thailand’s most prestigious secondary institutions, counting diplomats, athletes and several former prime ministers among its alumni. The attack has shaken the country at its educational heart.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul expressed condolences and said the tragedy “shouldn’t have happened.” He pointed to the government’s position against civilian firearm ownership, adding:
“How can this happen in our country?”
The question carries weight. Thailand has strict gun laws that carry penalties of up to ten years in prison for illegal possession. Enforcement, however, has long been inconsistent. The country has one of the highest rates of civilian gun ownership in Southeast Asia, with an estimated 40 percent of those firearms being illegal.
Seven people are dead, and a school that has stood for over a century is now a crime scene. Thailand is asking the same question that countries around the world have asked before it. One whose answer is yet to be found.
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