A quiet Friday shattered into unspeakable tragedy when a 14-year-old boy went on a deadly shooting rampage at his high school in Thailand, leaving teachers and students dead in one of the country’s worst school massacres in recent memory.

Before storming Debsirin Nonthaburi School—a prominent campus of 3,000 students just north of Bangkok—the teenage suspect reportedly murdered both of his grandparents at their home.

By the time the violence ended, at least six people at the school were dead, including three teachers and three students. Among the fallen was a child just 12 years old. More than 20 others were wounded, with nine fighting for their lives in critical condition, according to police spokesperson Lt. Gen. Trairong Phiwphan.

“Complete Chaos”: Terrified Students Crouch Under Desks

Chilling footage verified by CNN captured the sheer terror inside the classrooms. Crying students crouched under desks, trembling as echoing gunshots rattled the hallways. Outside, chaotic scenes unfolded as school staff frantically guided fleeing children to safety.

“The situation was complete chaos,” one first responder told Reuters, recalling how rescue crews rushed to treat teenagers bleeding from gunshot wounds to the chest, back, and arms.

Authorities say the boy carried out the attack using a handgun belonging to his grandfather. While early reports indicated the suspect had died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police later clarified that he remains hospitalized in critical condition under emergency care.

“This is terrible—this should never have happened,” Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said Friday afternoon, expressing deep grief over the horrific event.

For many on campus, the nightmare started with what sounded like an ordinary celebration. “At first, I thought it was firecrackers,” an 18-year-old student told Reuters. “Then the blasts grew faster—’boom, boom, boom’—followed by silence, and then the shooting started all over again.”

As word spread, frantic parents rushed to the gates, desperate for news of their children.

Armed and Unchecked: A Nation Confronts Its Gun Culture

Images from the scene show a handgun and loose ammunition scattered across the school floor. Police confirmed the boy lived with his grandparents rather than his parents, though investigators are still working to determine how he secured the weapon.

While Thailand’s Central Investigation Bureau declared the active threat “under control,” the tragedy reopens painful wounds in a nation grappling with widespread firearm availability.

Thailand holds one of the highest rates of gun ownership in Southeast Asia, with 2017 Small Arms Survey data estimating more than 10.3 million civilian-held firearms—roughly 15 guns for every 100 people. Data from the University of Washington ranks the country second only to the Philippines in regional firearm homicide rates.

Friday’s attack follows a string of heartbreaking incidents: a shooting in Hat Yai earlier this year that left a teacher dead, and a devastating 2022 childcare center massacre that claimed 36 lives—including 24 children—marking the darkest chapter of mass violence in modern Thai history.