Thailand School Shooting Death Toll Rises to Nine

The death toll from a school shooting in Thailand rose to nine on Saturday, after police said a 12-year-old girl caught up in Friday’s incident had died. Police at the Plai Bang Police Station in Nonthaburi Province said the girl, who had been treated at hospital with critical wounds, had died, a day after a 14-year-old boy allegedly shot his grandparents and then killed more people at his school before turning the gun on himself. The 14-year-old wounded more than 30 people in the shooting at the Debsirin Nonthaburi school northwest of Bangkok. Fourteen people remained in hospital on Saturday evening, seven of them in critical condition. Police are questioning more witnesses as part of their investigation, including the suspect’s parents. The boy had lived with his grandparents for 12 years after his parents had separated, Atthapol Anusit, deputy commissioner of the Provincial Police Region 1, told reporters on Sunday. The suspected attacker fired at least 26 bullets with a gun belonging to his grandfather, and was found with 34 additional ammunition rounds. Police on Sunday told reporters the teenager had an air gun confiscated by a teacher last year and had watched violent content online and used social media to learn how to use a firearm. “According to witness interviews, the perpetrator had begun showing interest in studying the use of firearms for some time, about one to two years,” Atthapol said. Atthapol, who said police had so far interviewed 17 witnesses, said a knife had also been found in the boy’s bag and other evidence found at the crime scenes included a firearm, spent cartridge cases, and a personal computer. On the day of the incident, the suspected shooter remained inside the school after reports of the attack emerged, Arsit Sampantharat, the permanent secretary of the interior ministry, told PPTV. A lockdown at the school was declared over in about half an hour. Images from the scene showed students running with only socks on their feet as they were evacuated from the school. Thailand’s prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, has vowed to implement new gun laws, telling reporters only government officials on duty would be allowed to carry guns. However, he did not provide any specifics, including whether the legislation would tighten gun ownership requirements. Thailand has the highest rate of civilian gun ownership in south-east Asia, and in 2017 the Switzerland-based Small Arms Survey placed the country 13th worldwide for small-gun possession. A number of mass shootings have occurred in recent years in Thailand, including incidents at schools and a large Bangkok mall, and a 2022 attack in the country’s north-east that killed 37 people including 22 children.