Thai PM says school shooter used gun registered at his home

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has confirmed that a 14-year-old student who opened fire at a high school in Nonthaburi province, just outside Bangkok, used a firearm that was legally registered at his home address.

The attack on Friday left at least five people dead and several others wounded. Authorities also stated that the teenager had separately killed his two grandparents before carrying out the shooting at the school. The gunman later died by suicide.

Speaking after visiting the school, Charnvirakul described the incident as an act of violence stemming from personal turmoil rather than criminal intent. "This is violence, but it is not caused by criminals, it is caused by an individual who had clearly a lot of pressures and tensions," he said, adding that the case should not be conflated with broader questions about legal gun ownership.

The Prime Minister noted that the weapon was kept in the family home and that it was unclear how the child gained access to it. He stressed that the firearm was not regularly carried in public.

Charnvirakul also said the student "intentionally came to school" to commit the act. In response to the tragedy, the education minister has pledged to introduce additional safeguarding measures to reassure parents, though the Prime Minister ruled out routine X-ray screening of students as impractical.