Thailand School Shooting: Gunman injures woman, two children before being shot, arrested

Police confirmed that the school principal has been seriously injured, though the exact number of casualties is still unclear.

A gunman who opened fire inside a school in southern Thailand on Wednesday was shot and arrested by police after injuring a woman and two children, authorities said.

The incident took place at Phatong Prathan Khiriwat School in Hat Yai district of Songkhla province, triggering panic among students and staff.

Confirming action against the attacker, Thailand's Central Investigation Bureau said in a statement, "Police shot the suspect in the Hat Yai shooting," after earlier reports had suggested he had been killed.

According to the Songkhla provincial government, the suspect entered the school in "an agitated state while carrying a gun". Soon after he stepped inside, "about two to three gunshots were heard", the provincial government said.

The national police later confirmed that the suspect was arrested.

Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health said a woman and a 14-year-old girl sustained gunshot wounds and were hospitalised, where both underwent surgery. A second child suffered an ankle injury after they "fell from a height", the ministry added.

A school administrator present at the scene told AFP she was too frightened to speak before disconnecting the call.

Thailand has one of the highest civilian gun ownership rates in Southeast Asia, with an estimated 10 million firearms in circulation — roughly one for every seven people. Despite repeated assurances from authorities about tightening gun control laws, the country has witnessed several deadly shootings in recent years.

In 2023, a 14-year-old boy allegedly shot dead two people at a crowded mall in Bangkok. In 2022, a former police officer killed 36 people, including 24 children, in a nursery attack in northern Thailand. In 2020, a former army officer shot dead 29 people in a mall rampage in Nakhon Ratchasima.

Further investigation into Wednesday’s school shooting is underway.