The shooting that took place on Friday morning at Debsirin Nonthaburi high school, in the province of Nonthaburi, about 15 kilometers northwest of Bangkok, has so far left nine fatalities, after authorities confirmed the death of a 12-year-old student who remained hospitalized following the attack.
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According to information provided by Thai authorities, among the deceased are three students, three teachers, the attacker’s two grandparents, and the shooter himself. Another 15 people were injured while trying to escape the premises.
The last confirmed victim was a seventh-grade student who was seriously injured and was taken to a medical center. The Ministry of Health of Thailand confirmed her death on Saturday.
The school had requested blood donations on Friday through its social media for two students injured during the attack. “We wish her eternal peace. We send our support to her family. We wish them much strength to overcome this loss,” the institution later expressed.
According to the police reconstruction, the attacker was a student of the same institution and before arriving at the school, he killed his two grandparents, with whom he lived, using a gun that belonged to them.
He then went to the school and opened fire on students and teachers. The first alerts to the police were recorded around 10:00 local time on Friday.
Authorities indicated that the teenager was later found in a computer room of the establishment. The most recent information indicates that he took his own life with a gunshot, although initial reports had given different versions about the circumstances of his death.
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So far, the reasons that led the student to commit the attack are unknown.
The Thai Prime Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, described the attack as a “terrible” event and again focused on gun possession in the country.
“It is a terrible incident. It should never have happened. How could this happen in our country?” he said. “That is why the government does not allow the possession of firearms.”
Thailand has a high presence of firearms among the population. According to data collected after the attack, it is estimated that there are around 10 million guns in circulation, approximately one for every seven inhabitants.
The country has recorded other armed attacks against educational institutions. In 2022, a former police officer entered a nursery in the north of the country with a gun and a knife and killed 24 children and 12 adults, in one of the worst massacres recorded in Thailand.
