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Mourners gather for 12-year-old girl who died after Thai school shooting

Police said Naphat Chaima, 12, died in hospital on Saturday, a day after a 14-year-old student opened fire at Debsirin Nonthaburi School in Nonthaburi province. Death and injury figures given by different Thai officials do not match.

2 reports on this incident · first at Aug 7, 2026, 9:50 a.m. ET

By AI ReporterFirst reported Aug 7, 2026, 4:29 a.m. ETWritten Aug 16, 2026, 5:56 a.m. ET
Police said Naphat Chaima, 12, died in hospital on Saturday, August, after suffering gunshot wounds at Debsirin Nonthaburi School in the Bang Kruai of Nonthaburi , north of Bangkok. Thailand's health ministry said in a statement: "Another person has passed away... a 12-year-old girl." The health ministry said the girl, who had been treated at a nearby hospital, died on Saturday. On Sunday, mourners queued at Wat Lat Pla Duk in Nonthaburi to pray over her body, according to an AFP journalist, and gathered at the temple for a ceremonial bath of the body, AFP reported. On Saturday morning, a few mourners laid flowers at the gate of Debsirin Nonthaburi School, according to an Australian Associated Press report. The shooting was on Friday, August 2026. Police said the 14-year-old killed his grandparents at their home before opening fire at the school on Bangkok's outskirts; officials said the 14-year-old appeared to have killed his grandparents at his family home earlier in the morning. Authorities said he shot dead the grandparents who raised him, then killed others at his school, and then turned the gun on himself. Volunteers from the Poh Teck Tung Foundation received reports of shots fired inside the school at around a.m. local time, according to a . Police, at a case review meeting, gave this sequence: at .53am the suspect arrived at school, took part in the morning flag-raising ceremony and later fatally shot a teacher in Classroom 3/ on the sixth floor; at .54am he descended to the fifth floor, inserted a fresh magazine in his gun and attempted to continue shooting, but his gun reportedly jammed; at .02am a uniformed patrol from Plai Bang police station arrived; at .03am patrol officers requested additional support; at .08am officers attempted to talk with the suspect and ordered him to stop shooting; and at .10am the suspect , after which tactical police teams entered Building and cleared the area. Thailand's Central Investigation Bureau said the "situation is now under control." During the incident, Thailand's Poh Teck Tung Foundation, a major rescue group, said: "Officers are urgently evacuating students from the area." Casualty counts given by differ, and this account does not reconcile them. Deputy Interior Minister Polapee Suwunchwee said school staff members, including teachers and administrators, died in the shooting at around a.m. On , Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said people were confirmed dead, including the gunman and his grandparents, and over injured with in critical condition. The 's public relations department, citing the ministry of public health, said the shooting had caused deaths as of , with people still hospitalised. By Saturday evening, people remained in hospital, of them in critical condition. The Bangkok Post reported that the Aug shooting killed people and injured others. On Friday, the school posted a message on Facebook seeking blood donations for students. Kiatikhun Verapongpradith, 47, an emergency worker who responded to the school, described attempts to revive a female victim: "We gave CPR for about minutes and rushed her to the hospital as we could not get her heart rate up, but we tried our best." Of the shooter, he said: "We rushed up and found that the perpetrator had shot himself in the right side of the head and collapsed. When we got up there, we checked his pulse, he still had one, so we started CPR." Pol Maj Gen Atthapol Anusit, deputy commissioner of Provincial Police Region 1, said: "We found that several factors may have combined, including family issues, studies, friendships and the consumption of violent content on social media." He said: "We looked into his PC and found history that he watched violent videos on social media," and: "From questioning the kids, we know that he brought a BB gun to school last year but a teacher seized it." He added: "Sometimes young people try to tell us about their problems, but we may not pay enough attention. We may not know what they are thinking or searching for, especially when social media is so easily accessible." The prime minister said police interrogated a close friend of the suspect who said he had been under stress: "We have learned from interviews with one of his close friends that he had been under stress and had complained about pressure over his studies." He said: "His grandmother was a teacher and wanted him to do well academically, so she was reportedly quite strict with him," and described the attack as "premeditated," saying: "He intentionally came to school today to commit this unfortunate case." He also said: "The gun was a registered firearm and was kept at a house, but somehow he gained access to it," and said a "new law will only allow government officials on duty to carry guns." Of the attack itself he said: "It's such a terrible incident. It should never have happened. How could this happen in our country?" Education Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong said: "We haven't checked whether students have brought weapons to school. Our level of security is not that tight." Thai police said they summoned several students and teachers from Debsirin Nonthaburi School for investigation on Saturday, and said a press conference would be held on Sunday to announce preliminary investigation results. An order signed by school director Nathanapong Thongplap sets lessons to resume in online format from Aug 18 until the end of the month, with on-site teaching from Sept 1.

Earlier reports

  1. Aug 7, 2026, 9:50 a.m. ETFirst report

    One dead and four injured in shooting at school in Thailand's Nonthaburi province, police say

    A shooting took place at Debsirin Nonthaburi School in the Bang Kruai district of Nonthaburi province, Thailand, on Friday, Aug 7, 2026, according to police and multiple news outlets. Most outlets, including Channel NewsAsia, The Straits Times, CNN, The Guardian, RTÉ, Nikkei Asia, the Otago Daily Times and The Business Times, placed the shooting at the district level, in Bang Kruai district; others, including the New York Post, NBC News, Tempo, The Daily Star, Tuoi Tre and AOL, identified the venue itself, Debsirin Nonthaburi School. The Straits Times reported that the school had an enrolment of around 3,100 students and 147 teachers in the 2025 academic year, according to district authorities; Tempo reported that students, teachers and other school workers were on the campus at the time. AOL reported that the situation was active, and figures remain unsettled.

    Lieutenant Colonel Dechrapee Kongdee, the Nonthaburi provincial police commander, said one person was killed and four injured, as reported by CNN, The Guardian, NBC News, the New York Post, The Straits Times, Nikkei Asia, RTÉ, Free Malaysia Today, the Canberra Times, PerthNow, the Otago Daily Times and The Business Times; Free Malaysia Today said he confirmed the casualties to Reuters. Other accounts differ: Tempo reported that Thailand's Ministry of Education confirmed four dead and that emergency responders said the injured had risen to around 20; The Daily Star reported four dead and 15 injured, citing deputy interior minister Polapee Suwunchwee; AOL reported two dead and 20 injured, citing initial reports; and Dunya News reported two injured, citing authorities. Channel NewsAsia and the Canberra Times quoted Lieutenant Colonel Pasakorn Chaitawiwong, head of the Plai Bang subdistrict police department, as saying the number of deaths was still unknown. Channel NewsAsia and The Guardian gave the casualty figures as of Friday, Aug 7; Nikkei Asia timestamped them to August 7, 2026 13:35 JST. Most outlets dated the shooting to Aug 7, 2026; The Straits Times gave the date as Aug 7, 2025.

    Officials have not released the identities of those killed or injured. Officials said the suspected gunman, a student, took their own life, according to The Guardian; police said the gunman died by suicide, as reported by CNN, Channel NewsAsia, Nikkei Asia, RTÉ, NBC News, Tempo, The Straits Times, the Otago Daily Times, Tuoi Tre and The Business Times, with the Nonthaburi provincial police commander, Dechrapee Kongdee, named as the source in several accounts. The Canberra Times and PerthNow described the wound as self-inflicted and said officials reported the gunman took his own life; the New York Post described it as self-inflicted and characterised by police as suicide. Nearly all outlets, including Channel NewsAsia, the Canberra Times, the New York Post, The Straits Times, CNN, AOL, Free Malaysia Today, PerthNow, The Guardian, RTÉ, Nikkei Asia, the Otago Daily Times, Tuoi Tre, NBC News, The Business Times, Tempo and The Daily Star, reported the suspect as deceased; the Canberra Times also carried the suspect's status as unknown. Police have not stated a motive, and the circumstances have not been determined.

    In a Facebook post, Thai police told anyone trapped inside a building to "hide, close everything tightly, and wait for rescue personnel to arrive." The Straits Times reported that parents and members of the public were urged to avoid the area so emergency personnel could carry out their duties, and Tempo reported that the Poh Teck Tung Foundation, a Bangkok-based rescue organisation, urged motorists to clear roads so emergency vehicles could move freely. Police officers, rescue teams and emergency doctors were deployed to the scene, along with the Nonthaburi Provincial Police, the Plai Bang subdistrict police, Thailand's Ministry of Education and the interior ministry.

    Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said: "It's such a terrible incident. It should never have happened. How could this happen in our country?"

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Revision history

  1. Version 17 Aug 2026, 13:50current

    First published.

  2. Version 116 Aug 2026, 09:56current

    First published.

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