At least seven people have been killed in a school shooting in Thailand, Sky News announced on Friday (August 7). The suspected gunman was a 14-year-old student at the school, located north west of Bangkok.
Details of the attack
Matt Barbet told viewers that the teenager opened fire at the school, and also reportedly killed his grandparents at their home before the attack. Phoebe Southwork shared further details of the tragedy, describing the "horror" in the classroom as the gunman opened fire on children. Chilling footage showed children hiding under desks and teachers locking doors as the gunman roamed the hallways.
Southworth explained: "Videos circulating on Thai social media appears to show a student running with a gun at the school. We know the gunman was a pupil there and just 14-years-old. Earlier that day, the teenager shot and killed his grandparents at their home.
"He's thought to have got the gun from a relative. Then he went to his school and fired 26 rounds of ammunition on pupils before turning the gun on himself." The suspect is also dead.
Official response
Police said that teachers are among those killed, and many others have been injured. Thailand's Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the teenager gunman "faced academic pressure and his grandma was strict with him". In footage from the press conference, Charnvirakul said: "This is violence, but it is not caused by criminals, it is caused by an individual who clearly had a lot of pressures and tensions."
Southworth said that the students had "barely begun lessons" when the gunman opened fire. The teenager's father, who has not been named, told CNN his son "was guilty" but had no idea why his son carried out the attack. "My son was guilty ... he hurt people. I have nothing more to say. But I still don't know why he did that," he said.
Background and witness accounts
The suspect had been living with his grandparents as his parents were separated. The father continued: "I still don't know why he had to kill his own grandfather and grandmother," adding that he had never seen "any sign of violence from my son".
An 18-year-old student told Reuters that he initially thought the gunshots were firecrackers going off. They said: "Then it started getting more frequent, like 'bang, bang, bang' and then it went quiet at one point. And the shooting started again."
