Warning: Graphic content, readers’ discretion advised. This story contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some readers discretion advised.
A 14-year-old student enrolled in the ninth grade at the school.
The shooter opened fire inside the school building, killing five teachers. No students are reported to have died at the school, but over 30 people were injured, several critically.
Before heading to the school, the teenager shot and killed both of his grandparents at their shared home.
After barricading himself on the third floor of the school, the 14-year-old took his own life by shooting himself.
According to reports from the Royal Thai Police and statements from Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, the boy used a 9mm handgun belonging to his grandfather which was kept in the house.
The shooter fired at least 26 rounds, and police recovered more than 30 additional cartridges at the scene, suggesting the attack was planned.
The Thai Prime Minister condemned the attack as horrific and announced that the government plans to introduce a strict new gun control law.
The proposed legislation aims to drastically restrict civilians from carrying firearms, limiting that right almost exclusively to on-duty officials.
The Ministry of Education has also promised to tighten security measures across schools nationwide.
The latest update from Thai Health Minister Phatthana Phromphat confirms that over 30 people were injured during the attack. While 10 patients have already been discharged, 13 people remain hospitalized
At least three patients were admitted to Phra Nang Klao Hospital in critical condition.
Two of the critically injured victims have undergone emergency surgery and are now in stable condition.
A 12-year-old female student remains in a coma after suffering a life-threatening bullet wound to the head.
Emergency responders noted that while many suffered direct gunshot wounds to the chest, back, and arms, several other students sustained minor injuries due to the panic and chaos while trying to scale fences and flee the school building.
Details of the Proposed Gun Control Legislation
Following the massacre, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul explicitly stated that this tragedy serves as the driving force behind a total overhaul of Thailand’s firearm rules. Key details of the upcoming proposal include:
- Strict Public Ban: The cornerstone of the new law dictates that only on-duty government and security officials will be legally permitted to carry firearms in public spaces.
- Mental Health Screenings: Independent legal and academic experts in Thailand, such as Associate Professor Piyaporn Tunneekul, are pushing for the new law to mandate rigorous psychological evaluations for gun ownership applicants. Current Thai law lacks any mental health screenings and allows individuals as young as 20 to purchase weapons without periodic reassessments.
- Revising “Red Flag” Dispositions: Lawmakers are looking to introduce international “red flag” mechanisms. These would grant authorities the explicit right to strip firearms from individuals deemed an imminent risk to themselves or others.
Despite being a civilian-dominated nation, Thailand has the highest rate of civilian gun ownership in Southeast Asia.
Out of an estimated 10.3 million firearms in circulation, roughly 4 million are entirely unregistered,this availability has fueled several highly publicized mass killings in recent years.
February 2026: Earlier this year, a 17-year-old student stole a weapon from a police officer and opened fire at a high school in southern Thailand, leaving one dead and two injured.
October 2023: A 14-year-old gunman utilized a modified blank-firing pistol purchased online to shoot and kill two people at the luxury Siam Paragon shopping mall in downtown Bangkok.
October 2022 (Nong Bua Lamphu Massacre): In the nation’s deadliest modern tragedy, an ex-police officer armed with an automatic knife and a gun raided a childcare center in northeastern Thailand, killing 36 people—including 22 young children.
February 2020: A disgruntled soldier went on a mass shooting rampage across a military base and a shopping mall in Nakhon Ratchasima, killing 29 people and wounding dozens more