Student kills at least 6 in shooting at high school in Thailand

NONTHABURI, Thailand (AP) — A student shot several people at a high school outside Bangkok on Friday, killing at least six people and wounding several others, police said.

The shooting happened at the Debsirin Nonthaburi School in Nonthaburi province northwest of the national capital, Royal Thai Police spokesperson Trairong Piwpan told The Associated Press.

A witness told reporters that students hid inside a classroom while they heard gunshots from another building before police officers knocked on the door and cleared a way for them to leave the building.

About an hour after the shooting, people stood outside the school comforting one another, and police and first responders walked around inside the school.

Authorities gave conflicting information on the casualties that could not immediately be reconciled.

Trairong told news broadcaster Channel 3 the shooter was hospitalized in serious condition and later died. 15 others were injured, with two in critical condition. He said three teachers and three students were killed.

Health Minister Pattana Promphat said 22 people were injured, with nine in critical condition. Some were injured from causes such as falls, and it wasn’t clear how many were shot.

Deputy Interior Minister Polapee Suwunchwee told reporters at the scene that five teachers died and that the shooter killed his two grandparents at home before going to the school.

Trairong said the motive was still being investigated. He said the gun was believed to have been taken from a member of the student’s family.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul offered his condolences and said he had ordered relevant officials to take care of the victims.

In February, a 17-year-old stole a gun from police and opened fire at a public high school in southern Thailand, briefly taking people hostage in a two-hour attack that killed one person and injured two others.

In 2023, a 14-year-old boy was accused of a shooting at a major Bangkok shopping mall.

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