Thailand school shooting toll rises to nine

The death toll from Friday’s school shooting in Thailand’s Nonthaburi Province has risen to nine, including a 12‑year‑old girl. Fourteen others remain hospitalised. Police are probing the 14‑year‑old gunman’s motive, ammunition source, and links to American school shooting cases.

Bangkok:  The death toll in a school shooting in Thailand’s Nonthaburi Province on Friday has risen to nine, authorities said on Saturday.

Citing the Ministry of Public Health, the province’s public relations department said in a Facebook post that as of 16:00 local time on Saturday, the shooting has caused nine deaths, with 14 people still hospitalised.

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It was reported that a 12-year-old girl died after being sent to the hospital. Debsirin Nonthaburi School, the victim’s school and the incident site, expressed condolences to the student on social media.

Thai police summoned several students and teachers from the school on Saturday to investigate the 14-year-old gunman’s motive and the source of the ammunition, saying that a press conference will be held on Sunday to announce the preliminary investigation results, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Previous reports revealed that the attack left eight people dead, including the gunman and his grandparents.

On Friday, local police were notified around 10 a.m. local time after a gunman opened fire at Debsirin Nonthaburi School in the Bang Kruai district of Nonthaburi province on the northwestern outskirts of Bangkok,

A witness at the scene said the gunman wore a purple tracksuit and fired dozens of shots in the school. Video footage released by the media shows continuous gunfire heard throughout the campus.

Authorities said a handgun was recovered at the scene, and initial information suggested it belonged to the grandfather of the alleged shooter. A large quantity of ammunition was also found in the suspected shooter’s bag.

According to Thai media reports, during the investigation of the motive for the school shooting case, Thai police found on the suspect shooter’s computer that he had searched and studied an American school shooting case.

A friend of the gunman also confirmed that he was under great pressure recently and had made thorough preparations before the shooting, and had even posted photos of the gun he used on social media.