Teenage Gunman Kills Grandparents, Then Attacks Bangkok-Area School

A 14-year-old student shot and killed his grandparents at their home in Thailand's Nonthaburi province on Friday, then drove to his school and opened fire, in what officials are calling the country's worst mass killing in years.

Attack Unfolded in Two Locations Before Police Cordoned Off the Campus

Thai officials said the student killed his grandparents at their home in the Bang Bua Thong district before arriving at Debsirin Nonthaburi School in the neighboring Bang Kruai district, a boys' secondary school of roughly 3,000 students on the outskirts of Bangkok. Police and a special operations unit sealed off the campus as teachers evacuated students and medical crews moved the wounded to area hospitals. Officers later found the gunman with a self-inflicted gunshot wound; Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters the shooter had died after turning the weapon on himself, though earlier accounts from a police spokesperson had described him as alive and in critical condition.

Officials Have Given Different Death Tolls as the Count Is Still Being Confirmed

Casualty figures have varied by official source and by hour. Anutin said five teachers were killed and at least 30 people were injured, while a deputy interior minister put the number of school staff killed at five. Other tallies, including from Wikipedia's running account of the incident, put the overall death toll at seven at the school with about fifteen injured, not counting the two grandparents killed separately or the gunman himself. Most of the injured are teenagers between 12 and 17, according to the provincial Emergency Operations Center. The school has suspended on-campus classes while authorities and school officials sort out a final count.

Investigators Are Examining How the Teenager Accessed the Weapon

Police said the gun used was the grandfather's handgun; authorities have not yet said how the teenager gained access to it. The suspect lived with his grandparents rather than his parents. Thailand's Ministry of Education said it would tighten school security measures and offer compensation to victims' families, and said counseling support was being made available to students, teachers and relatives affected by the attack.

The Attack Follows a Pattern of Rare but Recurring Mass Shootings in Thailand

Thailand has one of the highest rates of civilian gun ownership in Southeast Asia. Friday's attack was described by officials as the country's deadliest mass killing since the 2022 Nong Bua Lamphu daycare attack, which killed dozens. "This is horrible, it shouldn't have happened," Anutin said Friday afternoon, adding that he intends to raise the issue of firearm regulation with national police leadership. Investigators have not yet released a finalized account of the gunman's motive.