‘I felt like ‌we weren’t going to survive’: how Thai school shooting unfolded

When a shot rang out at the Debsirin Nonthaburi School on the outskirts of Bangkok on Friday morning, 14-year-old Khim and her classmates peered over a balcony to see if the noise had come from a construction site.But more loud bangs followed, until a teacher ushered them all into a classroom, checked a messaging group and confirmed to the now terrified students: there was an active shooter in their building.“I heard multiple gunshots and felt like ‌we weren’t going to survive,” Khim, who asked to be only identified by her nickname, said on Saturday, describing how her classmates moved desks to block a door, turned off the lights and huddled together near the classroom windows.Over the next 40 minutes or so, the alleged gunman – another 14-year-old student – ran amok, killing three teachers and two school officials, before turning the gun on himself.In all, nine people have been killed and another 23 wounded, in Thailand’s worst mass shooting since 2022, which has reignited debate over firearms control in Southeast Asia’s largest gun-owning nation.The tragedy had actually begun hours earlier, when the alleged gunman shot dead his grandparents at their home at dawn. He then took a bus to the school, ⁠18km (11 miles) away, where he pulled out a gun and started shooting just before 10am, police said.