Seven dead after Thai gamer shoots his grandparents and teachers

At least seven people were killed in Thailand when a “troubled” gamer shot his grandparents dead before opening fire on his classmates.

The attacker, described by police as an avid gamer, used his grandfather’s 9mm handgun to fire 26 rounds at Debsirin Nonthaburi secondary school in Bangkok on Friday.

He killed five teachers and injured at least 30 other people, nine of whom are in critical condition, before killing himself. The school has about 3,000 pupils.

The boy, who has not yet been identified, was in year nine. In Thailand, this would mean he was around 13 or 14 years old.

The shooting happened at Debsirin Nonthaburi School, on the outskirts of Bangkok

The shooting happened at Debsirin Nonthaburi school, on the outskirts of Bangkok Credit: Chalinee Thirasupa/Reuters

At least seven people were killed in Thailand when a “troubled” gamer shot his grandparents dead before opening fire on his classmates.

The attacker, described by police as an avid gamer, used his grandfather’s 9mm handgun to fire 26 rounds at Debsirin Nonthaburi secondary school in Bangkok on Friday.

He killed five teachers and injured at least 30 other people, nine of whom are in critical condition, before killing himself. The school has about 3,000 pupils.

The boy, who has not yet been identified, was in year nine. In Thailand, this would mean he was around 13 or 14 years old.

An 18-year-old student said: “I didn’t think it was a gun at first. There were many shots: bang, bang, bang. Then it went quiet. Then it started again.”

Kiatikhun Verapongpradith, a 47-year-old emergency worker, found a male teacher dead and a female teacher with wounds to her chest and arm.

He added that he had “rushed up” and found that the suspected shooter had turned the gun on himself and collapsed.

Emergency services and ambulances arrived at the school, with photographs showing hundreds of students streaming out into the playground.

Purin Khumchoo, 17, said he knew the gunman.

“He was my junior, but I had a feeling that he was a troubled kid,” he told AFP outside the school.

“My group of friends who knew him said he was interested in the FBI and guns, and that he was bullied by many other students.

“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.”

Anutin Charnvirakul, the Thai prime minister, expressed condolences to the victims of the shooting.

He said: “This is really bad, it shouldn’t have happened. I don’t just feel sorry for the victims, but I feel sorry that this happened.

“How can this happen in our country? This is why the government does not allow citizens to possess firearms.”

In February, a teacher ‌died and a student was injured in Hat Yai ⁠district, in southern Thailand, ⁠when a gunman opened fire at a school.

In July last year5, a gunman killed five people and then himself in a shooting at a food market in Bangkok.