Teen student kills grandparents, then opens fire at Thai school, killing five

Coverage spread: 3 sources — 1 left · 2 international

Lean ratings via AllSides / Media Bias-Fact-Check. How this works.

Where they agree

A 14-year-old student killed his grandparents at home before opening fire at Debsirin Nonthaburi School near Bangkok on Friday.
The gunman used a firearm belonging to his grandfather and was found dead after the attack.
Dozens were wounded in addition to those killed, with victims including both teachers and students.
Thailand has one of the highest rates of civilian gun ownership in Southeast Asia, and past tightening of gun laws has not stopped repeated mass shootings.

Where they differ

Death toll figures differ across outlets: Al Jazeera’s initial report cited eight killed and 15 injured, while its later, more detailed report and The Guardian settled on five killed at the school (plus two grandparents) and 22-23 injured; France24 reported six killed at the school.
The Guardian provides the most granular scene detail, including eyewitness and first-responder accounts of finding a dead teacher and a wounded teacher inside the building.
Al Jazeera uniquely includes context on Thailand’s firearm statistics (10.3 million guns, 40% unregistered) and mentions the Prime Minister’s response and a prior February shooting in Hat Yai.
France24 frames the story most briefly, emphasizing the three teachers and three students killed and the failure of recent gun-law pledges, without covering eyewitness accounts.

A 14-year-old student killed his grandparents at their home, then opened fire at Debsirin Nonthaburi School near Bangkok on Friday morning, killing at least five people — including teachers and students — and wounding more than 20 others before dying himself, according to Thai police. The attack has renewed alarm over gun violence in a country that already has the highest rate of civilian firearm ownership in Southeast Asia.

What exactly happened at the school?

Police say the gunman, described as a pupil at the school, first shot and killed his grandparents at their home before travelling to Debsirin Nonthaburi, a well-known school in the Bang Kruai district of Nonthaburi province on the northwestern outskirts of Bangkok. Once there, he opened fire inside the building. National police spokesperson Trairong Phiwphan said the attacker fired at least 26 rounds and was later found carrying 34 additional rounds of ammunition; the weapon belonged to his grandfather. The shooter was found dead at the scene, with police and reporting indicating he took his own life.

Emergency responder Kiatikhun Verapongpradith said his team found a male teacher dead on an upper floor and a female teacher wounded in the chest and arm in another room. A witness account described students hiding in a classroom after hearing gunfire from another part of the school until police knocked and escorted them out safely. An 18-year-old student told Reuters he initially mistook the gunfire for firecrackers or banging: “There were many shots: Bang bang bang. Then it went quiet. Then it started again.”

How many people were killed and injured?

Casualty figures shifted as the story developed. Police initially said six people had died at the school before revising the toll down to five, with the shooter counted separately as also dead. The Guardian, citing police, reported the attacker killed five people at the school in addition to his grandparents, while France24 specified three teachers and three students among the six killed on site. Injury counts ranged from 15 to 23 people wounded, with Thailand’s health department saying nine of the injured were in critical condition.

Who was the attacker and what school did he target?

The suspect has been identified only as a 14-year-old student enrolled at Debsirin Nonthaburi; police have not released further personal details. The school, part of the Debsirin network founded by the Thai royal family, enrolled about 3,100 students and 147 teachers in the 2025 academic year and counts former prime ministers, scholars and writers among its alumni.

What has the government said?

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul offered condolences to victims and said he had ordered officials to see to their care, according to Al Jazeera. The interior ministry’s permanent secretary, Arsit Sampantharat, said the suspected shooter remained inside the school as reports of the attack emerged, and officials only later confirmed the situation had been secured.

Why does this keep happening in Thailand?

Thailand has the highest rate of civilian gun ownership in Southeast Asia and was ranked 13th globally for small-arms possession by the Switzerland-based Small Arms Survey in 2017. Al Jazeera reported the country has an estimated 10.3 million firearms, about 40% of them unregistered. Formal gun laws are strict on paper — illegal possession can carry up to 10 years in prison — and have been tightened in recent years, including a requirement for medical evaluations before buying or renewing a gun licence. Those measures have not stopped repeated mass shootings.

The country’s deadliest attack by a single gunman remains the October 2022 rampage in Nong Bua Lamphu province, where a former police officer killed 36 people, including 22 children stabbed at a daycare centre, in a three-hour gun-and-knife assault. Al Jazeera also noted a February shooting in Hat Yai, southern Thailand, in which a teacher was killed and a student wounded. Reporters on the ground suggested Friday’s attack will likely reignite debate over gun control in the country.

What is still unclear?

The exact final death toll has fluctuated between reports (five to eight, depending on the source and whether the shooter and grandparents are included in the count), and the attacker’s motive has not been disclosed. Details about the suspect’s background, mental state, or any warning signs before the attack have not yet been reported.

Sources

Featured photo: John Thomson (1837-1921) via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)