Tragedy in Thailand: a student shoots in a classroom and his grandparents are also found dead
The author of the shots has also died and there are 23 people injured, two in critical condition
Seven people have died and fifteen are injured after a shooting at a secondary school in the province of Nonthaburi, north of Bangkok. Among the fatalities are three teachers, three students from the school, and the perpetrator himself, who took his own life during the incident. According to various local media outlets, the alleged perpetrator is a 15-year-old high school student. Following the incident, police found the alleged perpetrator's grandparents dead at their home, where the perpetrator also lived.
Initial investigations suggest that everything began at this residence and that the firearm used by the student was a pistol registered in the name of his grandfather, a former teacher. After the shooting, the school was evacuated and guarded by police and personnel from the Ministry of Education.
A close relative of the school's vice-principal, who died in the shooting, stated to journalists that there had been "no warning signs" or any problems with the young man's education that could have raised suspicion. "Everything was normal. There was nothing out of the ordinary," added the same witness.
In addition to the fatalities, two of the injured are in critical condition, as explained by the police force and reported by Efe, although it has not yet been specified if they are also students of the school. In fact, the current toll is considered provisional and the numbers could change. Indeed, at this time there are also differences between the authorities' tallies, with the Ministry of the Interior referring to five fatalities at the institute—not counting the aggressor—and all of them being teachers.
Police received the first reports at ten in the morning via social media. The suspect was inside the computer room of the educational center, which according to local media reports is Debsirin Nonthaburi School, about 15 kilometers northwest of the Thai capital. It is an educational institution for students between 12 and 18 years old, belonging to one of the most prestigious and oldest public school networks in the country, which has educated several high-ranking political figures.
Access to weapons
Thailand has a very high rate of firearms per capita, and shootings are not uncommon. Apart from police and military, the regulations for the population to be able to buy them are lax. In February, at a school in Hat Yai, in southern Thailand, the school principal died in another shooting when a man burst in shooting and took teachers and students hostage.