At least six people have been killed in a school shooting in Thailand on Friday morning. Police were called to reports of gunfire at the Nonthaburi branch of the Debsirin School on the outskirts of Bangkok, just after 10am local time.
Officers said the shooter was a 14-year-old student at the school, who took the lives of students and teachers before killing himself. Police spokesperson Trairong Phiwphan told Thai broadcaster Channel 3 that three students and three teachers were among those killed.
At least 15 people were also injured and were treated by paramedics before being taken to hospital, where two remain in critical condition.
The shooter fired 26 rounds, and another 34 rounds of ammunition were also found at the scene, police added.
“Anyone trapped inside a building, hide, close everything tightly, and wait for rescue personnel to arrive,” police wrote on Facebook.
Thailand’s public health minister later revealed that the suspected shooter also killed his grandparents before going to school.
They were found dead in their home, and the shooter used a 9mm handgun belonging to his grandfather, a teacher, to carry out the attack.
Emergency worker Kiatikhun Verapongpradith, 47, said he arrived at the scene of the shooting to find a teacher lying dead on the floor, and students with injuries to the chest, backs, and arms.
In another room, he found a teacher with injuries to her chest and arm. He said: “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.”
A seventh-grade student who fled the building told the BBC she was in her classroom when she saw the shooter moving from room to room.
She said she witnessed him shoot the teacher standing in front of her classroom, but couldn’t see anything else after that.