The mind and the path of Nonthaburi’s 14-year-old shooter

Investigators are piecing together the events that led a 14-year-old student to embark on a deadly shooting spree across Nonthaburi on Friday, with the death toll now at nine after a 12-year-old female student succumbed to severe gunshot wounds last night.

The shooter, a Mathayom 3 student(Year 10 (UK), Grade 9 (US)), whose name has not been released, took the lives of his grandparents at their home before opening fire at Debsirin Nonthaburi School, killing five teachers and staff and injuring dozens of others before taking his own life in the school.

The first report of an incident at the school was received by volunteers at the Poh Teck Tung Foundation at around 10am.

According to a student inside the school, the gunman, dressed in a purple physical-education uniform, fired 26 rounds on the school grounds. Another 34 rounds of ammunition were found at the scene, police said.

As police analyse the shooter’s digital footprint and firearm access, some light is being shone on the background of the teenager behind one of the country's most devastating school shootings.

He lived in Bang Bua Thong district with his grandparents, who had raised him with care since childhood after his parents separated. Relatives described him as an extremely quiet, polite and well-behaved teenager who rarely went out and spent most of his time playing computer games. His grandfather, a former bank manager, regularly drove him to and from school.

The weapon used in the attack was a legally registered 9mm handgun, owned by the suspect's grandfather, which had been kept locked in a wardrobe. The boy managed to locate the key and retrieved the firearm, along with nearly 100 rounds of ammunition. He had previously posted a photo of the handgun on his Instagram account.

Digital forensics have revealed that the teenager had researched and viewed video clips of U.S. school shootings in the days preceding the assault.

National Police Chief Pol Gen Kitrat Phanphet noted that the accuracy of the gunfire indicated the possibility of some prior firearms training or practice, as fatal shots struck vital areas.

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul stated the attack was premeditated, noting that the boy is believed to have been under severe pressure and academic-related stress.

The violence began at the family residence, where the teenager shot and killed his grandfather in the kitchen and his sleeping grandmother in an upstairs bedroom. He then locked the property's gate from the outside before travelling to Debsirin Nonthaburi School in Bang Kruai district.

Upon arrival, he opened fire, killing five teachers and staff members and injuring dozens of others before turning the gun on himself. Among the injured, two students, aged 13 and 14, remain in critical condition.

The school has suspended all in-person classes through next week as investigations continue.

In reaction to the tragedy, the prime minister of Thailand has been outlining plans for stricter gun control laws and heightened campus security.

Thailand’s Department of Provincial Administration (DOPA) has also ordered a nationwide security tightening, aimed at curbing violent crime, illegal firearms and illicit drugs. These operations will target public spaces, risk areas and nightlife venues to enforce a strict ban on the carrying of firearms in public.

The mass shooting is not the first and has raised the question of whether this is a creeping, silent threat in Thai society.

In February this year, a 17-year-old gunman attacked a school in Hat Yai district, Songkhla province, injuring several staff members and students. The school’s director later succumbed to her injuries. The suspect was subsequently apprehended.

In October 2022, a disgraced former police officer, armed with a gun and a knife, launched a deadly assault on a child development centre in Nong Bua Lam Phu province, leaving 37 people dead, including 22 children.