A 13-year-old was detained yesterday after fatally shooting a classmate whom he said frequently tormented him at a public school in northwest metro Bangkok.
Upon being taken into custody, the unidentified boy told police that he had stolen his father’s gun to shoot his schoolmate as revenge for constantly slapping his head and calling him queer. The shooting, he said, was provoked by a growing grudge between the two at the Nonthaburi city school.
The shooting occurred around 8:30am, shortly after students sang the national anthem as part of the daily flag-raising ceremony, said regional deputy police chief Thanayut Wuttitratthamrong, who questioned the young suspect at the Ratthanathibet Police Station.
Maj. Gen. Thanayut said the seventh-grader changed his school uniform for dark clothes, a mask and gloves before shooting his classmate after the anthem. He then changed back into his school uniform and was heading toward the exit when a security guard and teacher stopped him and checked his bag.
Inside, they discovered a 7.65mm pistol and the clothes worn during the shooting, according to multiple reports.
Officials discovered the victim’s lifeless body in a pool of blood in front of his classroom on the fifth floor of a school building with gunshot wounds to his head. First-responders were unable to revive him.
As of late Thursday afternoon, the suspect remained in police custody. His parents had requested his release on bail from Nonthaburi’s juvenile court.
The school where the incident occurred has been cracking down on security to prevent another shooting, Thai PBS reported. School staff were checking students’ bags today as they entered the campus.
The fifth floor, where the shooting occurred, remained closed, with classes relocated elsewhere.
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