I was standing in front of my teacher when she was shot, Thai pupil says

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Students shelter in classroom as gunshots heard

On Friday morning, as the final classes of the week were under way, panicked students began streaming out of a prestigious school just outside Bangkok.

Inside, police say, a 14-year-old boy had opened fire.

Still in her uniform, with her mother by her side, she explains how the shooter stalked from room to room.

Authorities say he killed five teachers and injured 23 people - including fellow pupils - before turning the weapon on himself. Earlier, he had gunned down his grandparents.

Her mother says the girl thought she might die. "[She said] 'I thought I'd never see you again'."

Follow live: Thai teenager kills at least seven and injures more than 30 as PM calls shooting 'well prepared'

"I didn't think it was a gun at first," he said. "There were many shots: bang bang bang. Then it went quiet. Then it started again."

Metres from the school gates, paramedics loaded the wounded into ambulances and rushed them to hospital, as milling crowds hugged and cried.

Rescue worker Kiatikhun Verapongpradith rushed to the scene after hearing children as young as 12 had been hurt.

"She was my age. We went to this school together as students. Then we both became teachers at this school," the 31-year-old, who declined to give his name, said.

It is early days in the investigation and police haven't said anything about a motive.

They believe the 9mm handgun the shooter used belonged to his grandfather. Forensic officers found the gunman's shots to be "quite accurate", with several hitting "vital spots" on victims' bodies.

Others are filling some of the gaps. A teacher at the school has said the shooter was a good student - not aggressive and with good grades - and education authorities have described him as an avid gamer.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said study pressures may have played a role.

"We learned that his grandmother was a teacher and she might have been strict with him. From what the police gathered from his close friend, they knew he was quite stressed about it."

It is clear authorities will have many questions to answer in the coming days - many of them about what change this crime must trigger.

This is Thailand's deadliest mass shooting in years - and the second at a school this year.

In February, a head teacher and a female student were shot by an 18-year-old gunman during a school siege in southern Thailand.

Four years ago, a 34-year-old in the eastern Nong Bua Lamphu province killed 37 people, most of them preschoolers, in a shooting and stabbing at a nursery.

These crimes have resurfaced questions about gun control in the country.

"This shouldn't have happened," the boyfriend of one of the killed teachers told reporters, clearly distressed and trying to hold back tears.

More than seven million people are believed to own guns in the country, one of the highest rates of ownership in the world. Of those, more than one million are unlicensed owners.

Image source, EPAImage caption, The shooting at Debsirin Nonthaburi School is the second in Thailand this year

While there are restrictions on gun licences in Thailand, people can still acquire the weapons - legally or illegally - with relative ease.

There is a thriving black market, aided by Thailand's porous land borders with four other nations. Problems with corruption and loose regulation in the police and military have seen weapons end up in the wrong hands.

Prime Minister Anutin said he had tightened regulations when he was interior minister three years ago - suspending new gun permits.

But gun crime remains rife, with deaths from gunshots among the highest in the region. And some in the community are calling for greater action.

Seven killed after Thai teen shooter opens fire at home and school

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