Summary

  1. What we know so farpublished at 08:56 BST 7 August

    Yvette Tan
    Live editor

    If you are just joining us, here's what we know so far about the school shooting at Debsirin School:

    • Five teachers have been killed in a school shooting on the outskirts of Bangkok just after 10:00 local time (03:00 GMT)
    • Authorities say the suspected shooter, a 14-year-old boy, killed his grandparents at home before going to school. The 9mm handgun he used belongs to his grandfather, according to police, and reports say he was found with at least 34 additional ammunition rounds
    • Police said earlier that the suspected shooter is also dead. Authorities say they do not yet know his motive
    • At least 15 people have been hospitalised for their injuries, including two in critical condition
    • The incident has renewed calls for Thai authorities to review the country's gun control measures, with the country having one of the highest rates of gun ownership in South East Asia

    Stay with us - we'll bring you the latest updates as we get them.

  2. Second school shooting this year raises questions on gun control – againpublished at 08:46 BST 7 August

    Jonathan Head
    Reporting from Bangkok

    We're hearing that the shooter seemed to be targeting teachers. The shooting went on for about an hour before the perpetrator, a 14-year-old student at the school, appears to have turned the gun on himself.

    The boyfriend of one of the teachers who was killed is very distressed. "This shouldn’t have happened," he told reporters while trying to hold back his tears.

    The Debsirin Nonthaburi School is located in a large, urban residential and commercial area to the north of Bangkok. A lot of people commute from here to the capital, and this is a very well known school here, so this incident will have a very profound effect on the community.

    This is the second school shooting in Thailand this year. In February, a school principal and a female student were shot by an 18-year-old gunman during a school siege in southern Thailand.

    In October 2022, a 34-year-old resident in the eastern Nong Bua Lamphu province killed 37 people, most of them preschoolers.

    The real issue here is that while there are restrictions on gun ownership in Thailand, people can still acquire guns – legally or illegally – with relative ease. Thailand has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in South East Asia.

    Questions about gun control have been raised before and it's not clear if authorities have taken any significant action to curb gun crime.

  3. Thai police say they are investigating the shootingpublished at 08:37 BST 7 August

    The Royal Thai Police has said in a statement that they are conducting an investigation into the shooting to clarify the cause and proceed with the judicial process.

    It also expressed its condolences to the families of the victims.

  4. 'I was standing in front of my teacher when she was shot'published at 08:26 BST 7 August

    Thanyarat Doksone
    Producer, BBC News Bangkok

    A female seventh grader in school uniform spoke to me as she was standing next to her mother, waiting to be picked up from a food stall across the school.

    “I was standing in front of the teacher when she was shot. She was talking to me when [the gunman] showed up and shot her," she says.

    "I couldn’t see anything but a [cloud] of dust. He walked from room to room. My desk was very close to the teacher. I had to climb over the school fence to escape with other friends.”

    She appeared to be in a state of shock still. Her mother said her daughter told her “I thought I’d never see you again”.

  5. Suspect was 'an avid gamer' - deputy interior ministerpublished at 08:16 BST 7 August

    Paweena Ninbut
    BBC Thai

    Thailand's deputy interior minister Polapee Suwanchawee has shared further details on the suspect, including that he was an avid gamer, according to evidence that the police has gathered at his home.

    The suspect, a 14-year-old student, lived with his grandparents, who have been found dead at home. Authorities believe he killed his grandparents before going to school, where he shot five teachers.

    He then shot himself and died on the way to the hospital.

    A teacher at the school has said that the boy is a "good kid with good study records", and that he was not known to be aggressive.

  6. Watch: BBC reports from scene of Bangkok school shootingpublished at 08:08 BST 7 August

    It's early afternoon in Thailand's capital Bangkok, where police continue to investigate a school shooting in Nonthaburi.

    From the scene, the BBC's Jonathan Head describes seeing ambulances arriving and speaking to pupils who saw their teachers being shot.

    Media caption,

    What we know about the Thailand school shooting

  7. Health ministry clarifies that five teachers were killedpublished at 07:51 BST 7 August

    We've been getting conflicting casualty numbers from various authorities.

    The health minister Pattana Promphat is now saying that five teachers have been killed at the school.

    This would bring the toll to eight, including the suspected shooter's grandparents and the perpetrator himself.

    Debsirin SchoolImage source, Reuters
  8. Gunman killed grandparents before going to school, says ministerpublished at 07:28 BST 7 August

    The suspected shooter also allegedly killed his grandparents before going to school.

    They were found dead at home, said Thailand's public health minister.

    The 9mm handgun he used belongs to his grandfather, who was a teacher, police say.

    Police had earlier said that six people were killed in school shooting, but authorities have now clarified that four others have been killed so far in the school, all of whom were teachers.

    The suspected gunman has also been found dead.

  9. Opposition leader calls for review of gun control measurespublished at 07:16 BST 7 August

    Natthaphong RuengpanyawutImage source, Getty Images

    An opposition leader has called for Thai authorities to review the country's gun control measures.

    "Although the motive behind the attack remains unclear at this time, an act of violence in an educational institution, which should be one of the safest places in our society, serves as a stark reminder for Thai society to seriously and systematically review gun control measures," Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, leader of the People's Party wrote in a Facebook post following the shooting.

    Natthaphong also expressed his condolences to the families of the victims.

  10. What to know about the shootingpublished at 07:05 BST 7 August

    Jonathan Head
    BBC South East Asia Correspondent

    Shots were reported from the Nonthaburi branch of the Debsirin School on the outskirts of the capital Bangkok, just after 10:00 local time (03:00 GMT)

    Videos from the scene show staff rushing students out of the classroom and police officers trying to find the shooter.

    According to the police, he was a 14-year-old student at the school who opened fire on teachers and fellow pupils before taking his own life.

    The injured were treated by paramedics before being taken to hospital.

    This shooting follows another at a school in southern Thailand in February. That incident raised questions, which will now surely be asked again, about the easy availability of guns in Thailand.

  11. Where did the school shooting happen?published at 06:54 BST 7 August

    The shooting took place on the outskirts of Thailand's capital, Bangkok, in the well-known Debsirin School.

    Satellite map and graphic showing the location of Debsirin Nonthaburi school in Thailand where a shooting took place
  12. Student recalls shooter opening firepublished at 06:42 BST 7 August

    Thanyarat Doksone
    Producer, BBC News Bangkok

    We just spoke to a seventh-grade student who has fled the building. She says she was in her classroom when she saw the shooter walking from room to room.

    He then shot the teacher who was standing in front of her classroom, she says.

    She couldn't see anything else after that, she recalls.

  13. Two other schools have dismissed students earlypublished at 06:36 BST 7 August

    Thanyarat Doksone
    Reporting from Bangkok

    Our team has arrived at the scene, where many other media outlets have also gathered outside the school gate. We see several ambulances parked inside the school’s sports grounds.

    At least two schools in the vicinity, including one preschool, have halted classes so students can go home early.

  14. Staff and students gripped by anguishpublished at 06:28 BST 7 August

    Emotions are running high outside Debsirin Nonthaburi School. Staff and students have been evacuated from the premises after the shooting.

    Here are the latest pictures from the scene.

    Students react with a relative after being evacuated from Debsirin Nonthaburi SchoolImage source, Reuters
    People gather outside a school following a shooting in Bang Kruai district, Nonthaburi provinceImage source, Getty Images
    A teacher reacts while embracing a person at Debsirin Nonthaburi SchoolImage source, Reuters
    Students fleeing the schoolImage source, Reuters
  15. Six dead in school shooting - policepublished at 06:16 BST 7 August

    Six people have died in the shooting, police have told reporters at the scene.

    Thai police had earlier said that the suspected shooter is also dead.

    At least 15 people are injured - of whom two are in a critical condition, police say.

  16. Thai Prime Minister Anutin sends condolencespublished at 06:07 BST 7 August

    Speaking to reporters earlier, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul expressed condolences for the victims of the school shooting.

    "This is really bad, it shouldn't have happened. I don't just feel sorry for the victims but I feel sorry that this happened. How can this happen in our country," he said in a short interview at the government house.

    "This is why the government do not allow [citizens] to possess firearms," he added.

  17. Student thought gunshots were firecrackers at firstpublished at 05:54 BST 7 August

    People in black t-shirts looking distraughtImage source, Reuters

    One student told Reuters that he had thought the sound of gunshots during the school shooting was firecrackers going off, or someone banging something.

    "I didn't think it was a gun at first," he said.

    "There were many shots: bang bang bang. Then it went quiet. Then it started again."

    Students were seen fleeing from the school shooting site, and staff members from the Debsirin Nonthaburi School looked visibly distraught waiting outside the school.

  18. Recent shooting deaths in Thailandpublished at 05:41 BST 7 August

    Gun laws are quite strict in Thailand, where illegal possession of firearms can lead to a sentence of up to 10 years. But the country still has one of the highest civilian gun ownership rates in South East Asia.

    The country has seen several deadly incidents in recent years.

    In February, a school principal and a female student were shot by an 18-year-old gunman during a school siege in southern Thailand. The principal died in hospital the following day.

    Last year, five people were killed in a shooting at a food market in Bangkok.

  19. Shooter was in the ninth gradepublished at 05:29 BST 7 August

    The shooter was in the ninth grade, Dechrapee Kongdee, chief of the Nonthaburi provincial police, tells the BBC.

    Ninth grade students in Thailand are typically around 14 years old.

    We reported earlier that police said the shooter has died.

  20. At least two dead - reportspublished at 05:23 BST 7 August

    At least two people have died in the school shooting, according to media reports citing police.

    Two people were killed and 15 were injured, according to broadcaster Thai PBS.

    Reuters is reporting that a teacher was killed and four other people were injured. The shooter killed himself, Reuters reported the police as saying.