The boy brandished a handgun on his Instagram account around Songkran, the Thai New Year, which is celebrated every April.
On Friday, the Thai authorities said, he used the same weapon, which belonged to his grandfather, to kill seven people and inflict fatal injuries on himself. The mass shooting immediately revived a debate about gun laws in the country.
The boy shot and killed his grandfather and grandmother, with whom he lived, on Friday morning. Then he went to his high school, the Debsirin Nonthaburi School, northwest of Bangkok, and at some point opened fire.
In a video of the shooting posted to social media, which The New York Times has verified, at least eight gunshots could be heard within the span of a minute, as students crouched under tables in a classroom. The gunman, who was believed to be about 14, was still in the school as the police and medical personnel started arriving.
In the end, he killed five teachers, wounded nearly 30 other people, and then turned the weapon on himself, Thailand’s prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, told reporters on Friday evening. Nine people remain in critical condition. The shooter was taken to the hospital but eventually died from his injuries. The police found the handgun near the shooter along with more than 30 rounds of ammunition.
“Someway, somehow, we don’t know how, this child got access to the gun,” Mr. Anutin said, adding that the weapon had been registered with the authorities. The shooter’s name was not released because he was a minor.
It was not clear how he had planned the attack, Mr. Anutin said, adding that the boy had been stressed about his studies. The prime minister did not provide more details but said the shooter’s grandmother was a retired teacher and had been strict with him because she wanted him to do well in school. In recent days, the boy had told his best friend that he had been stressed because of that pressure, according to Mr. Anutin.
Thailand, which has one of the highest rates of civilian gun ownership in Southeast Asia, has in recent years seen several deadly high-profile mass shootings, which have fueled calls for stricter firearm controls in the country.
Mr. Anutin said he would introduce a new gun control law but did not give specifics.
In 2022, a former police officer fatally shot or stabbed more than 20 people — most of them children — at a day care center in Nong Bua Lamphu Province.
One year later, a 14-year-old shooter opened fire at one of Bangkok’s largest shopping malls, killing two and wounding five others.
Last year, a 61-year-old man opened fire at a marketplace in Bangkok, killing five and wounding two others.
Jiawei Wang contributed reporting.
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