Sky News was interrupted as it was announced that several people have been killed in a school shooting in Thailand. Matt Barbet confirmed that at least seven people have died after a teenager opened fire at the school, located north west of Bangkok.
Details of the attack
He said: "The suspected gunman was a 14-year-old student at the school and also reportedly killed his grandparents at their home before the attack." Sharing further details on the tragic incident was Phoebe Southwork, who described the "horror" in the classroom as the gunman opened fire on children. The harrowing footage showed children hiding under desks and teachers locking the doors as the gunman roamed the hallways.
Southworth continued: "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 killed his grandparents at their home."
Official response
The country's prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, called the attack "well prepared". Police have said that teachers are among those killed, while many others have been wounded. Southworth added that Thailand's Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the teenager gunman "faced academic pressure and his grandma was strict with him".
Footage from the press conference was aired, as 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."
Witness accounts
Southworth went on to say that the students had "barely begun lessons" when the gunman opened fire. The teenager's father, who has not been named, told CNN he had no idea why his son carried out the attack and that he had a "good school result." The suspect had been living with his grandparents as his parents were separated.
"I still don’t know why he had to kill his own grandfather and grandmother," the boy's father said, 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. "Then it started getting more frequent, like ‘bang, bang, bang’ and then it went quiet at one point. And the shooting started again," they said.
