A 14-year-old student who opened fire at a school in Kamphaeng Phet province yesterday used a 9mm Glock handgun stolen from his father and had been suspended after doctors diagnosed him with depression, investigators said.
The Mathayom 3 student entered Wachiraprakarn Witthayakhom School in Muang district at about 2.05pm and fired eight shots into the air, according to a report submitted to the Kamphaeng Phet governor.
No one was seriously injured in the incident, and the report said the shooting appeared to have been intended as a threat.
The report said the student had previously chatted with a friend via Messenger about his intention to carry out a shooting at the school.
The school learned of the messages on August 19 and summoned the student and his parents for a meeting. However, the student denied having any intention of carrying out an attack, saying the messages were merely part of a game-related conversation.
The following day, his mother took him to Kamphaeng Phet Hospital, where he was assessed and given a medical certificate recommending that he take eight days off from school, from August 21-28. He was scheduled for a follow-up appointment on September 4.
The student had been absent from school since August 21.
The school said it had retained 26 pages of chat messages between the student and his friend as evidence.
A security guard at the school entrance told police that the student approached the gate and pointed a handgun directly at his face.
The guard said he moved aside to avoid the shot, causing the bullet to graze the back of his neck. He suffered a minor injury. One spent cartridge was found at the entrance.
The student then entered the school and fired several more shots.
Meanwhile, Pol Col Anek Chansorn, deputy commander of the Kamphaeng Phet Provincial Police, said the boy had been diagnosed with depression and the school subsequently suspended him for two weeks.
He said the boy went to the school yesterday afternoon after smashing his father’s car and stealing the handgun.
The boy initially fired at the front of the school, targeting the security guard but missing him. He then walked into a group of people inside the school and fired at them but missed, apparently because he lacked sufficient shooting skills.
He then went upstairs looking for a female teacher whom he intended to shoot, but could not find her because she had hidden in a classroom.
As for the motive, Pol Col Anek said it might have stemmed from the teacher’s decision to suspend the boy from classes, which may have caused him to harbour a grudge against her and prompted the attack.
He said doctors and mental-health specialists were assessing the boy's mental condition and examining the cause of the incident in greater detail.
