A woman mourns outside Debsirin Nonthaburi School in Bang Kruai, Nonthaburi Province, on the outskirts of Bangkok, on Sunday, following a shooting that left multiple people dead and wounded. [Yonhap-Reuters]
A woman mourns outside Debsirin Nonthaburi School in Bang Kruai, Nonthaburi Province, on the outskirts of Bangkok, on Sunday, following a shooting that left multiple people dead and wounded. [Yonhap-Reuters]

The death toll from a school shooting in Thailand has risen to eight. The 14-year-old student who carried out the attack killed his grandparents before opening fire at school, and a police investigation revealed he had learned how to use firearms through social media and had been watching violent content online.

Thailand's Ministry of Public Health said Sunday that a 12-year-old girl receiving treatment at a hospital near Debsirin Nonthaburi School in Nonthaburi Province, northwest of Bangkok, died Saturday. The shooting at the school on Friday killed five teachers and staff members, the gunman's two grandparents and one student — eight victims in all. The gunman took his own life during the attack, bringing the overall death toll to nine.

As of Saturday, 14 people remained hospitalized, seven of them in critical condition, according to the Ministry of Public Health. Most of the injured were students between 12 and 14 years old.

Police interviewed about 10 witnesses and others and determined that the gunman had developed an interest in firearms roughly one to two years earlier and taught himself how to use them through social media.

A forensic examination of the gunman's computer confirmed he had been viewing violent content on social media. No evidence has yet been found that he actually practiced shooting, however.

Police also said the gunman had brought a BB gun to school last year and had it confiscated by a teacher.

In response to the attack, Thailand's Ministry of Education said it would develop new school safety guidelines within three months. The measures are expected to include mental health screenings, professional support for at-risk students, emergency response drills, campaigns against school violence and stricter monitoring of prohibited items on school grounds.

Gun violence targeting schools has become a recurring problem in Thailand. In October 2022, a former police officer killed 37 people — including more than 20 children — at a daycare center in Nong Bua Lamphu Province in the northeast. In February, a 17-year-old fatally shot a school principal at a high school in Hat Yai, Songkhla Province in the south.

Amid the heightened concern, a separate school in the Hat Yai area suspended in-person classes after a recently dismissed foreign teacher made gun threats.

Local media including the Bangkok Post, The Nation and Khaosod reported that Hat Yai Wittayalai School would switch to online classes Monday and Tuesday for the safety of students and staff. The move came after a South African contract English teacher who had recently been fired posted photos, audio and messages — including footage of himself firing a gun and images of school administrators — in a LINE messenger group chat with about 5,000 members.

The school reported the incident to police, who closed the school gates and stepped up patrols.


kacew@heraldcorp.com