A 14-year-old student carried out a deadly rampage on Friday, killing at least seven people and himself in an attack that began at his home and concluded at a school on the northwestern outskirts of Bangkok. Police confirmed the teenager first fatally shot his grandparents before traveling to the Debsirin Nonthaburi School, where he targeted teachers and staff. This tragedy marks the Southeast Asian nation’s most severe mass killing in nearly four years.
Authorities reported that the shooter fired at least 26 bullets during the school attack using a firearm belonging to his grandfather. Investigators later discovered an additional 34 rounds of ammunition at the scene. The victims at the school were exclusively teachers and staff members. Emergency responders, including 47-year-old Kiatikhun Verapongpradith, arrived while the shooting was still in progress, discovering victims with injuries to their chests, backs, and arms. One teacher was found dead on an upper floor, while another was discovered in a separate room suffering from severe chest and arm wounds.
The perpetrator eventually turned the weapon on himself. Emergency teams reached the shooter after hearing a final gunshot. Kiatikhun noted that when they located the teenager, he had sustained a self-inflicted wound to the right side of his head. Although the team attempted CPR after detecting a faint pulse, the shooter did not survive. Police confirmed 23 people were wounded in the incident, with Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul later stating that nine of the injured remained in critical condition.
Students were seen fleeing the campus as ambulances arrived to transport the wounded. One 18-year-old student described the confusion during the initial moments of the attack, stating he initially mistook the gunfire for firecrackers or someone banging an object. “I didn’t think it was a gun at first,” he recalled. “There were many shots: bang, bang, bang. Then it went quiet. Then it started again.”
According to district authorities, the school served approximately 3,100 students and 147 teachers during the 2025 academic year. Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul expressed deep sorrow over the loss of life, describing the event as a terrible tragedy for the country. He noted that preliminary investigations suggest the teenager had been suffering from significant stress related to his academic studies.
In the wake of the violence, Prime Minister Anutin vowed to introduce a new, more stringent firearms control law. Thailand currently holds the highest number of civilian-owned guns in Southeast Asia, with the Small Arms Survey estimating roughly 10.3 million firearms in circulation, or about 15 guns per 100 residents. This incident follows a series of high-profile shootings in recent years that have forced the government to repeatedly re-evaluate its gun policies.
The nation’s deadliest mass killing by a single perpetrator occurred in 2022, when a former policeman killed 36 people—including 22 children—in a gun-and-knife attack in the northeast. Other notable incidents include a 2020 shooting in Nakhon Ratchasima that left 29 dead, and a 2023 incident where a 14-year-old killed two people at a luxury Bangkok shopping mall using a modified handgun. Following the 2023 shooting, then-Interior Minister Anutin implemented various restrictions, including a temporary ban on new licenses and import limitations.
Despite those previous measures, the prevalence of firearms remains a major public safety concern. This latest school shooting is the second such incident in Thailand this year, following a February attack in the south that resulted in the death of a teacher and the injury of a student. As the nation mourns, officials are under intense pressure to address the systemic issues surrounding mental health and the accessibility of weapons.
The investigation into the teenager’s access to his grandfather’s weapon and the specific circumstances leading to his mental health crisis continues. As the community of Nonthaburi processes the trauma, the government faces renewed demands to implement long-term reforms, such as mandatory psychological assessments for gun owners, to prevent further tragedies in schools and public spaces.
Police said 23 people were wounded in the incident, the latest in a succession of mass shootings in recent years in Thailand, which has by far the largest number of guns in civilian possession in Southeast Asia, and amo
One 18-year-old student told Reuters he initially thought there were firecrackers going off or someone banging an object.
Source: Gulf Today
