In the quiet of a Friday morning, panic erupted at Debsirin School in Nonthaburi, a suburb of Bangkok, when a 14‑year‑old student opened fire inside the building.
Police confirm that five teachers were killed and 23 people – many students – were wounded before the gunman turned the weapon on himself. The incident, the country’s most deadly school shooting in recent years, began when the teenager entered the school from the courtyard and began firing at random.
A seventh‑grade student, speaking to the BBC, recounted the moment she found herself standing in front of her teacher as shots rang out. "When the teacher was talking to me, the gunman appeared," she told reporters, still shaken. She said she and other classmates had to climb over a fence to escape the hall: "I thought I’d never see you again," the girl said, quoting her mother’s words as the chaos unfolded.
According to police, the shooter was a good student who had performed well academically and was an avid gamer, according to sources from the school. The 9mm handgun used in the attack was traced to the shooter’s grandfather, according to forensic evidence. The shots were described as “quite accurate,” with some hitting vital spots on victims.
The incident follows two previous violent episodes at schools this year: a February shooting where a head teacher and a female student were killed, and a nursery attack in 2018 that claimed 37 lives. These events have reignited a debate over gun control in Thailand, a country that apparently has four million firearms in circulation, with about one million unlicensed.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who had previously tightened gun‑licensing rules, said the circumstances surrounding the incident highlighted the need for stricter regulations. “The gun owner had suffered considerable stress,” he said, adding that the teacher’s grandmother might have added pressure on the victim.
The government has faced criticism for allowing a large number of unlicensed firearms to circulate in the country, with a thriving black market aided by porous borders. In response, the authorities are promising investigations into the weapon’s source and more stringent oversight of fire‑arms.
In the aftermath, the school’s community has tried to rebuild and cope with trauma, with parents and teachers speaking aloud about the need for safer educational environments. Image of students hugging after the shooting encapsulates the emotional toll of the day.
