In a tragic incident that unfolded in Thailand, police have disclosed that a teenager, who fatally shot his grandparents and then targeted a local school, had been coping with bullying and overwhelming school assignments.
This 14-year-old used his grandfather’s firearm to kill his grandparents before proceeding to a high school in Nonthaburi province, near Bangkok, where he gunned down five members of the school staff.
Before he turned the weapon on himself, the attack left about 30 others wounded at the school.
Seventeen-year-old Purin Khumchoo recounted how he narrowly escaped the shooting spree.
“He was younger than me, and I sensed he was troubled,” Purin shared with AFP outside the school. “Friends who knew him mentioned he had a fascination with the FBI and firearms, and was bullied by many peers.”
‘When I saw him aiming the gun at me, I thought he looked very professional, as if he had been trained for a long time.’
The suspect was said to be an avid gamer, while a teacher at the school said that he was a ‘good kid with good study records’, and that he was not known to be aggressive.
Those killed at the school were all teachers and staff. Nine of those who were wounded are in critical condition, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said.
He added that the teenage suspect was ‘under stress’ and had planned the assault.
‘Police interrogated his close friend, who said the suspect had been under stress’ related to his schooling, Anutin told reporters outside the secondary school in Nonthaburi province, bordering Bangkok.
‘His actions also suggested that he had clearly planned (the shooting).’
Newly emerged images now show the suspect, dressed in the school’s purple uniform, stalking the building’s corridors as he appears to load up a handgun.
Photos published by local media show the suspect wearing a purple school uniform and carrying a black cross-body bag, with several bullet casings visible on the ground.
Pupils streamed out of the high school as the wounded were loaded onto ambulances and teachers hugged each other and cried.
In photos circulated by emergency workers, one person is seen lying down on a stretcher outside an ambulance, while a medic tends to another.
Lieutenant Colonel Dechrapee Kongdee, the Nonthaburi provincial police commander, confirmed earlier that the suspected shooter had died.
The gunman also allegedly killed his grandparents, whom he lived with, before going to the school. They were found dead at home, Thailand’s public health minister said.
Newly emerged images now show the suspect, dressed in the school’s purple uniform, stalking the building’s corridors
The images capturing the shooter were taken before he turned the gun on himself
A pupil reunites with a relative after being evacuated from Debsirin Nonthaburi School
A witness told reporters that pupils hid inside a classroom while they heard gunshots from another building before police officers knocked on the door and cleared a way for them to leave the building.
The suspect was reportedly seen reloading ammunition inside the building, according to sources at the scene.
Photos published by local media show the suspect wearing a purple school uniform and carrying a black cross-body bag, with several bullet casings visible on the ground.
Armed response units were deployed to the school while pupils and staff were evacuated from the campus.
One 18-year-old pupil told Reuters he initially thought firecrackers were going off or someone banging an object.
‘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 worker Kiatikhun Verapongpradith, 47, described arriving as the shooting was ongoing and his team treated pupils with injuries in the back, chest and arms.
They found a male teacher lying dead on an upper floor of the school, and in another room they found a female teacher with wounds in her chest and arm.
‘We gave CPR for about 30 minutes and rushed her to the hospital as we could not get her heart rate up, but we tried our best,’ he said.
In the 2025 academic year, the school had an enrollment of around 3,100 pupils and 147 teachers, according to district authorities.
Terrified pupils climbed from windows during a school shooting in Thailand this morning
Pupils flee from the Debsirin Nonthaburi School after the shooting took place
Medical personnel perform CPR on the shooter who died by suicide
An injured teacher receives medical attention inside an ambulance at Debsirin Nonthaburi School
Armed police officer enters Debsirin Nonthaburi School, following a shooting incident at the school
The suspect was reportedly seen reloading ammunition inside the building, according to sources at the scene. Pictured: The gun used in the shooting
Deputy Interior Minister Polapee Suwunchwee said the suspect used a handgun (pictured) and the interior ministry was investigating how the pupil obtained it
Pupils run as they evacuate from Debsirin Nonthaburi School, the site of a shooting incident, in Bang Kruai district in Nonthaburi province on the outskirts of Bangkok
A schoolgirl cries outside her school where deaths and injuries were reported after a shooting in Thailand’s Nonthaburi province, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026
Emergency responders walk with a stretcher outside a school following a shooting in Bang Kruai district
Thai police officers gather inside the compound of Debsirin Nonthaburi School, following a shooting incident at the school
Police said that the motive for the shooting was still being investigated and that the gun was believed to have belonged to his grandfather, who was a teacher
Police have been gathering evidence at the suspect’s home, Thailand’s deputy interior minister Polapee Suwanchawee said.
Deputy Education Minister Akkharanan Kannakittinan said in a statement he was coordinating to provide assistance.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul offered his condolences and said he had ordered relevant officials to take care of the victims.
‘It’s such a terrible incident. It should never have happened. How could this happen in our country?,’ he told reporters at Bangkok’s Government House.
The Debsirin School is a well-known secondary school in Thailand and has branches across the country.
The original Debsirin School in Bangkok was founded by Thai King Chulalongkorn in 1885.
Its school in Nonthaburi, where the shooting has taken place, is situated in the northwestern outskirts of Bangkok.
Following Friday’s shooting, an opposition leader called for Thai authorities to review the country’s gun control measures.
Thailand has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the region, with around 10 million firearms estimated to be in circulation – one for every seven inhabitants.
Police stand outside the home of the alleged shooter
The suspect is said to have shot his grandparents at their home
The wife of a teacher reacts at the school following the shooting
Emergency responders stand by on the school premises after the shooting
Forensic police walk at the scene of the school shooting
‘Although the motive behind the attack remains unclear at this time, an act of violence in an educational institution, which should be one of the safest places in our society, serves as a stark reminder for Thai society to seriously and systematically review gun control measures,’ Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, leader of the People’s Party, wrote in a Facebook post.
In February, police shot and arrested a teenage shooter who opened fire at a school in the south of the country in February, leaving the school principal dead and two students injured.
The teen had used a police officer’s weapon in the shooting.
A local police chief said at the time that the suspect was hospitalised for psychiatric treatment in December and had been discharged.
The teen stabbed a police officer with a knife and stole his weapon – a 9mm pistol – just before the incident, and then used it to carry out the attack.
In 2022, an ex-policeman armed with a gun and a knife stormed into a nursery in the country’s north and murdered 24 children and 12 adults, one of Thailand’s deadliest massacres.