At least 4 killed 15 injured in shooting at school near Bangkok

At least four people were killed, including two students and two teachers, and 15 others were wounded in a shooting incident at a high school in Thailand on Friday (Aug 7), Deputy Interior Minister Polapee Suwunchwee said. The incident happened in the Bang Kruai ‌district ⁠of Nonthaburi province, north of Bangkok. The minister added that those injured in the incident were not wounded because of the gunfire but as they were trying to flee the scene.

“A shooting has occurred at a well-known high school in Bang Kruai district, Nonthaburi province. Initial reports indicate 10-15 people have been injured,” local broadcaster Thai PBS said. Reportedly, the shooter, identified as a teenager, has been killed.

Thailand has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in Southeast Asia, with an estimated 10 million firearms in circulation, roughly one for every seven residents. Despite repeated government pledges to tighten gun control laws, shootings continue to occur.

In February, police shot and arrested a teenage student who opened fire at a school in southern Thailand, killing the principal and injuring two students.

The country’s deadliest recent mass shooting occurred in 2022, when a former police officer armed with a gun and a knife attacked a childcare centre in northeastern Thailand, killing 36 people, including 24 children.

Who was the shooter?

The shooter has been identified as a ninth grade student, according to BBC report citing Dechrapee Kongdee, chief of the Nonthaburi provincial police