A gunman who fired shots at a school in southern Thailand on Wednesday has been detained and all the people who were held hostage have been freed.
An 18-year-old man entered the Patongprathankiriwat School in Songkhla Province’s Hat Yai earlier on Wednesday with a gun, officials said.
‘The perpetrator has been captured,’ Deputy Superintendent Wichian Soboon told Reuters.
At least three people were injured in the incident, a second police official added.
The attacker was seen on video calmly striding past the field holding the weapon alongside a young woman, believed to be a teacher.
Armed police rushed to the scene as hundreds of children fled onto nearby roads shortly after the end of lessons.
The number of injured was not immediately known, with several teachers and pupils initially trapped inside the building.
Officers in the Hat Yai district said they were attempting to negotiate with the gunman.
A security guard who escaped from the shooter said the gunman had shot the headmaster.
A gunman who fired shots at a school in Hat Yai district in southern Thailand on Wednesday has been detained and all the people who were held hostage have been freed. He was seen on video calmly striding past the field holding the weapon alongside a young woman, believed to be a teacher
An 18-year-old man entered the Patongprathankiriwat School in Songkhla Province’s Hat Yai earlier on Wednesday with a gun, officials said
He said: ‘A bullet grazed my stomach, but I escaped. The school director was shot. There were still children inside the school who have been taken hostage.’
Police in the Thung Lung district said they had received reports of the gunman, who is believed to be 18, behaving erratically and threatening to harm his mother at a house near the school.
When officers arrived to subdue him, the suspect allegedly carried an M4 submachine gun and walked into the school, where he opened fire, seriously injuring the school principal, and took a teacher and students hostage.