Thai police officers arrest a suspected gunman after storming a school in Songkhla province, southern Thailand, wounding two and taking others hostage. Photo courtesy Royal Thai Police/EPA
Police arrested an 18-year-old gunman after he allegedly took students and teachers hostage at a school in Songkhla in southern Thailand on Wednesday.
The gunman entered the Phatong Prathan Keeriwat School in Songkhla’s Hat Yai district and fired shots shortly before 5 p.m. local time, and at least three people were injured, the BBC reported.
The school’s principal and a female student were shot and taken to a local hospital to treat their wounds, while another student was injured while jumping off the school building.
The armed man eventually surrendered after a 2-hour standoff with local police. Law enforcement officials suggested the gunman carried out the attack due to a problem he had with a teacher.
Local police said all students, teacher and staff were safe, aside from the three who were injured during the attack.
Songkhla is located near the Gulf of Thailand in southeastern Thailand and near the country’s border with Malaysia.
Thailand has experienced a high level of firearms-related crimes in recent years, including the shooting deaths of two and the injuring of five others by a 14-year-old in a Bangkok food market in 2023.
A former police officer also killed 36, mostly children, in 2022 while attacking a kindergarten in northeastern Thailand. That attack was one of the country’s deadliest mass shootings.
