A 14-year-old student opened fire on seven people and wounded more than 20 on Friday in one of Thailand’s deadliest school shootings in years.
The shooter killed his two grandparents at the home they shared, then proceeded to his high school just outside Bangkok, where he killed five teachers and staff, according to Thai authorities.
The shooter shot himself at the scene and died shortly after his evacuation to the hospital, Thai officials said.
The student had previously flaunted the gun, which was owned by his grandfather, on Instagram in April, according to authorities.
Twenty-three people were wounded in the attack, with nine in critical condition, officials added.
The student’s motivation for the mass killing was unclear; a close friend told police the shooter had been under stress from his studies.
After searching the suspected gunman’s home, police told local media that he had been watching videos of school shootings in the United States on his computer in recent days.
The shooting is one of the deadliest attacks on a school in Thailand since 2022, when a 34-year-old former police officer killed 37 people, including 24 children, at a nursery in northeastern Thailand. Following that attack, Thai lawmakers pledged gun reforms, though comprehensive changes have yet to be codified.
In the aftermath of Friday’s shooting, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said he would introduce a new firearms control law that would allow only public officials on duty to carry guns.
Thailand boasts the highest civilian gun ownership rate in Southeast Asia, with around 15 guns per 100 people, according to a 2017 estimate from the Small Arms Survey.
correctionA headline on a previous version of this article incorrectly said that more than 30 people were injured in the shooting. As of the article’s 11:53 a.m. publication, more than 20 people were reported to be injured.
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