BANKONK: At least eight people were injured when a student opened fire at a school in Thailand north of Bangkok on Friday, the police said.
A Thai teenager killed his grandparents before opening fire at his school, where he shot five people dead and took his own life, police have said, in an attack that has shaken a country struggling to deal with gun violence.
The incident took place in the Bang Kruai district of Nonthaburi province
The 14-year-old wounded more than 30 people in the shooting at the prestigious Debsirin Nonthaburi school in the Nonthaburi province on Bangkok’s outskirts. Nine people were in a critical condition, the Thai health department said.
For Prompong Namwong, an English teacher at the school, it was a normal morning until a panicked student from another class flung open the door, trying to find somewhere to hide. In the corridor, Prompong heard other teachers shouting that there had been a mass shooting downstairs.
When Prompong recounted the ordeal to the Guardian, he hesitated between calling the 14-year-old, whom he saw run in front of his classroom, “killer” or “student”.
At that moment, “I thought I was going to die, for sure,” he said.
The suspected attacker fired at least 26 bullets with a gun belonging to his grandfather, and was found with 34 additional ammunition rounds.
The suspected shooter remained inside the school after reports of the attack emerged, Arsit Sampantharat, the permanent secretary of the interior ministry, told PPTV.
A lockdown at the school was declared over in about half an hour. Prompong said that when he heard a knock, he thought it was the end of his life, but instead it was the police coming to their rescue.
Images from the scene showed students running with only socks on their feet as they were evacuated from the school.
