'I was standing in front of the teacher when she was shot': Student recalls Thailand school shooting horror

Panic swept through Debsirin School in Nonthaburi on Friday morning as students fled classrooms after a 14-year-old student allegedly opened fire inside the campus. According to police, the teenager killed five teachers and injured more than 30 people, including students, before turning the gun on himself. Authorities also said he had earlier fatally shot his grandparents before arriving at the school.

One seventh-grade student described the terrifying moments inside the school. "I was standing in front of the teacher when she was shot," a shaken seventh grader told the BBC, near the gates of Debsirin School in Nonthaburi. “She was talking to me when [the gunman] showed up.” The student recalled that the gunman moved through classrooms while students desperately searched for ways to escape. "I had to climb over the school fence to escape with other friends," the girl, who the BBC is not naming, continues. Her mother said the ordeal left her daughter believing she would not survive. "[She said] 'I thought I'd never see you again'."

Another student initially mistook the sounds for fireworks. "I didn't think it was a gun at first," he said. “There were many shots: bang bang bang. Then it went quiet. Then it started again.” Emergency crews rushed to the campus, transporting the injured to nearby hospitals as distressed families gathered outside the school. Rescue worker Kiatikhun Verapongpradith described the injuries he witnessed. "I saw students who had been shot, some in the arm, some in the back, some in the chest. So I rushed to help get them to the hospital first."

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Teachers were also among those mourning colleagues lost in the attack. “She was my age. We went to this school together as students. Then we both became teachers at this school.” Police have not announced a motive. Investigators believe the teenager used a 9mm handgun belonging to his grandfather. Forensic investigators reportedly found that many of the shots struck vital areas of the victims' bodies.

School staff described the suspect as a high-performing student with good grades and no history of aggressive behaviour. Education officials also said he was an avid gamer. Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said investigators were examining whether academic pressure and personal stress may have contributed to the tragedy. "We learned that his grandmother was a teacher and she might have been strict with him. From what the police gathered from his close friend, they knew he was quite stressed about it."

The attack is Thailand's deadliest mass shooting in several years and the second school shooting reported in the country this year. The incident has renewed calls for stronger gun control laws. Thailand has one of Southeast Asia's highest rates of civilian gun ownership, with millions of firearms in circulation, including many that are unlicensed.

Opposition leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut urged authorities to strengthen firearm regulations, stating that violence inside schools should prompt a comprehensive review of the country's gun control policies. Investigators continue examining the circumstances surrounding the attack while the nation mourns one of its deadliest school tragedies.