Thailand school shooting: five staff killed by 14-year-old near Bangkok

Nonthaburi,UPDATED: Aug 7, 2026 16:22 IST

At least five school staff members were killed and several others were injured after a 14-year-old student opened fire at a high school outside Bangkok on Friday morning, authorities said. Officials also said the boy appeared to have killed his two grandparents at home before the attack and later took his own life.

The shooting took place at Debsirin Nonthaburi School in Nonthaburi province, north-west of Bangkok, at around 10 am. Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who visited the school, said the student had shown signs of stress linked to school. He also said the gun used in the attack, described by police as small and compact, was legally registered to the boy's grandfather.

Deputy Interior Minister Polapee Suwunchwee said five school staff members, including teachers and administrators, were killed in the shooting. About an hour later, people were seen outside the co-educational state school, comforting one another as police and first responders moved around the campus. The school has about 3,000 students aged between 12 and 18.

A witness told reporters that students hid inside a classroom after hearing gunshots from another building. They said police officers later knocked on the door and cleared a way for them to leave safely. Bangyai Hospital, about 5 kilometres from the school, said 23 people were injured and 10 of them were in critical condition, with most suffering gunshot wounds. Earlier reports had given conflicting casualty figures.

Regional police Commander Wattana Yeejeen said officers went to the home of the student's grandparents after the school shooting, but found the door locked and got no response to their calls. Police broke the lock and found both grandparents dead from apparent gunshot wounds. Family members at the house, including the boy's uncle and his grandfather's sisters, said he usually kept to himself and was a good student. They also said they were not aware of any problems he faced at home or at school.

The incident is the latest in a country with one of the highest rates of gun ownership in Asia. Data from a 2017 study by Small Arms Survey and GunPolicy.org showed Thailand had about 15.1 civilian-owned guns per 100 people, compared with fewer than one per 100 in neighbouring Malaysia. According to 2023 figures published by World Population Review, Thailand recorded 3.49 firearm deaths per 100,000 people. In February, a 17-year-old stole a gun from police and opened fire at a public high school in southern Thailand, killing one person and injuring two others. A 14-year-old boy was also accused in the 2023 shooting at a major Bangkok shopping mall.

Friday's attack left five school staff members dead, injured several others and led police to the bodies of the student's grandparents, as authorities said the 14-year-old gunman later died by suicide.

With PTI Inputs

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