14-year-old boy kills grandparents, 5 staff in Thailand home, school shooting

A 14-year-old boy in Thailand, described as “troubled” and “bullied” by a classmate, has killed his grandparents before shooting dead five more people at a school in the country.

Thailand Police confirmed via a statement issued on Friday, August 7, 2026, that the teenager first shot dead his two grandparents, using his grandfather’s handgun, then went to a secondary school in Nonthaburi province, bordering Bangkok, and killed five school staff.

Police disclosed that the 14-year-old boy, a student of the school, also killed himself.

Officials earlier gave a higher toll of eight dead, which had included the suspect, and initially said students were among the victims.

Dozens of police and emergency responders gathered outside the cordoned-off Debsirin Nonthaburi School, while parents waited to pick up their children and tearful students and staff comforted each other outside.

12-year-old student Pawarisa Maylissa told AFP: “I was afraid that I would die, and I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to pursue my dreams.

“I heard many gunshots very loudly because it seemed the suspect was on the floor directly above us.”

Thailand Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters at the scene that “police interrogated his close friend who said the suspect had been under stress” related to his schooling.

Anutin added: “His actions also suggested that he had clearly planned the shooting.

“The gun was a registered firearm and was kept at a house, but somehow he gained access to it.”

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The prime minister disclosed that more than 30 people were injured, with about nine in critical condition.

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.

Police shot and arrested a teenager who opened fire at a school in the south of Thailand in February, killing the principal and wounding two students.

The teen had stabbed a police officer with a knife, stole his pistol and then used the weapon in the shooting.

A local police chief said at the time that the suspect had been discharged from psychiatric hospitalisation.