14-Year-Old Student Opens Fire at Prestigious Thai School, Leaving Over 20 Casualties

[Anchor]

A mass shooting at a school on the outskirts of the Thai capital of Bangkok has left at least six people dead and dozens injured. The suspect who opened indiscriminate fire was a 14-year-old student attending the school.

Here is a report from reporter Kim Young-a.

[Reporter]

Terrified students evacuate in a hurry, led by their teachers.

Students who failed to escape hide beneath desks, sobbing in fear.

The shooting occurred at a prestigious public school in Nonthaburi province, northwest of Bangkok, Thailand, on the morning of today, the 7th, local time.

A 14-year-old eighth-grade student at the school fired dozens of rounds from an automatic handgun at fellow students and teachers.

[Student at the school where the shooting occurred (18): At first, I just thought it was the sound of firecrackers as a prank or someone slamming something down hard. But as I kept listening, I realized that wasn't it.]

Six people, including three students and three teachers, were killed, and more than 20 others were injured.

With nine of the injured in critical conditions, the death toll could rise further.

When responding police surrounded him, the suspect barricaded himself and resisted before attempting suicide, after which he was transported to a hospital.

Dozens of additional rounds of ammunition were found in his bag.

[Rescue worker: It seems the student shot himself in the head to take his own life. I just saw that it was a 9mm firearm.]

The suspect's grandparents were also found dead with gunshot wounds at his home.

Police believe he killed them before moving to the school to carry out the shooting, and are investigating the motive for the crime.

Thailand, where civilians own more than 10 million firearms, averaging about one gun for every seven people, has the second-highest rate of gun violence in Asia following the Philippines.

In February of last year, a school shooting resulted in two casualties, and in 2022, a mass shooting at a daycare center left 36 people dead, including 24 children.

(Video Editing: Chae Chul-ho, Video Source: X@chaudharyparvez·@PlanetreportHQ)

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