- The suspected shooter killed at least six people in a Thai high school shooting
- The shooter allegedly killed his grandparents before the school attack
- Two elderly victims were found dead at their home in Nonthaburi province
The suspected shooter, who killed at least five teachers in a mass shooting at a well known high school just north of the Thai capital, Bangkok, has also allegedly killed his grandparents before going to school. The two elderly people were found dead at home, said Thailand's public health minister.
First the 14-year-old student-- a ninth grader-- shot his grandparents dead, then went to his school at the Nonthaburi branch of the Debsirin School in Thailand's Nonthaburi province and killed five teachers, BBC reported, quoting Thailand's health ministry.
The teen then killed himself, the ministry said.
The 9mm handgun used by the teen belonged to his grandfather, who was a teacher, police said, adding that shots were reported just after 10:00 local time (03:00 GMT).
Police are still investigating the motive behind the mass shooting.
'He Went From Classroom to Classroom'
A seventh-grade student who was in the building at the time of the shooting told BBC that she was in her classroom when she saw the shooter walking from room to room.
He shot the teacher who was standing in front of her classroom, she said. The student said she couldn't see anything else after that.
Videos From School
Videos from the scene show staff rushing students out of the classroom and police officers trying to find the shooter.
A witness told reporters that students hid inside a classroom while they heard gunshots from another building before police officers knocked on the door and cleared a way for them to leave the building.
Meanwhile, Thailand's Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul offered his condolences and said he had ordered relevant officials to take care of the victims.
Thailand's Gun Problem
Thailand has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the region, with around 10 million firearms estimated to be in circulation -- one for every seven inhabitants.
Past promises of tightening gun laws have not prevented repeated shootings.
Thai police shot and arrested a teenage shooter who opened fire at a school in the south of the country in February, leaving the school principal dead and two students injured. The teen had used a police officer's weapon in the shooting.
A local police chief said at the time that the suspect was hospitalised for psychiatric treatment in December and had been discharged.
The teen stabbed a police officer with a knife and stole his weapon -- a 9mm pistol -- just before the incident, and then used it to carry out the attack.
In 2022, an ex-policeman armed with a gun and a knife entered a nursery in the country's north and murdered 24 children and 12 adults, one of Thailand's deadliest massacres.
