Thailand school shooting leaves eight dead as police probe how teen got handgun
A teenage student in Thailand killed eight people on Friday, including his grandparents, before dying himself, police said. The attack has reopened questions...
A teenage student in Thailand killed eight people on Friday, including his grandparents, before dying himself, police said. The attack has reopened questions about guns in a country where firearms are common and school violence is rare but deeply shocking.
National police said the suspect first shot his grandparents with his grandfather’s handgun, then went to his school north of Bangkok and killed three teachers and three students. Local media reported the teen was later found dead, though accounts differed on whether police shot him or he died by suicide.
Police investigate the handgun
Authorities said the interior ministry is looking into how the student obtained the weapon. Photos published by local media showed a teenager in a purple school uniform, carrying a black cross-body bag, with bullet casings scattered on the ground nearby.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul called the shooting “a terrible incident” and said it should never have happened. “How could this happen in our country?” he told reporters at Government House in Bangkok.
Guns remain widespread
The shooting has put a harsh spotlight on Thailand’s gun culture. The country is estimated to have about 10 million firearms in circulation, or roughly one for every seven people, one of the highest ownership rates in the region.
That figure matters beyond Thailand. Across Southeast Asia, gun ownership is generally far lower than in parts of the Americas, and attacks involving firearms at schools or other public places often trigger demands for tighter controls, better access checks and stronger enforcement. In Thailand, Friday’s killings are likely to fuel fresh scrutiny of how weapons move inside households and into the hands of teenagers.
The school attack north of Bangkok ended with eight people dead in all. Police have not yet explained the full sequence of events, and the interior ministry inquiry into the handgun continues.
