Bangkok, Thailand – In a tragic incident that has shaken the Thai public and caused widespread shock, the country witnessed a horrific security incident this morning, Friday. Seven people were killed and at least 15 students were injured in a shooting at a high school in Nonthaburi province, located just north of the capital, Bangkok.
Thai PBS radio reported that the shooting occurred inside the prestigious Dipsirin Nonthaburi School, a well-known educational institution with nearly 3,000 students. According to initial reports from Poh Tik Tong, one of Thailand’s leading rescue groups, the attack left seven people dead and 15 others injured, some critically. In addition, the group also confirmed in an urgent statement that security forces and officers are currently working to evacuate students and secure the area surrounding the school. The school is located on a busy highway in the Bang Krawi district.
For his part, Lieutenant Colonel Deshrapei Kongdee, police chief of Nonthaburi province, told Reuters that the suspected gunman committed suicide immediately after the attack. Initial police investigations revealed that the perpetrator was a student at the school. Meanwhile, the Thai Central Bureau of Investigation told CNN that the situation was “now completely under control” and that security forces were continuing to search the site. Reports also indicate that the injured included one teacher and at least three students.
This horrific crime has reopened the debate surrounding gun ownership in Thailand, where the rate of gun ownership is remarkably high compared to its Southeast Asian neighbors. According to 2017 data from the Small Arms Survey (SAS), based in Switzerland, Thai civilians own more than 10.3 million firearms. This translates to a rate of 15 firearms per 100 people. Thailand also has the second-highest rate of gun homicides in the region, after the Philippines, according to the 2019 Global Burden of Disease database.
This incident is not the first of its kind; last February, a teacher was killed and a student injured in the Hat Yai district. Thais also still vividly remember the 2022 massacre in which 36 people, including 24 children, were killed at a daycare center. Notably, this incident remains the deadliest in the country’s modern history.
