At least seven dead and 15 injured in horrific school shooting in British-favourite holiday hotspot

Rescuers at the scene said the killer was using a nine-millimetre handgun - and was carrying a shoulder-bag containing a magazine
|REUTERS

Students were seen fleeing the school in tears, with wounded teachers photographed being carried away on stretchers
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At least seven people are dead and 15 people are injured after a mass school shooting in Thailand's capital Bangkok.
In an update on Friday morning, police confirmed the death toll - and said two of the 15 hurt are in a critical condition.
The country's Deputy Interior Minister had earlier told Thai PBS that two students and two teachers were killed.
Students were seen fleeing the school in tears, with wounded teachers photographed being carried away on stretchers as armed police flooded the site.
Some of the injured students were not hurt by gunfire but as they were trying to flee, the Deputy Interior Minister added.
The suspected shooter is among the number of those killed, police also said, and was taken to hospital after turning the gun on himself.
Photos in local media show him wearing a purple school uniform and carrying a black cross-body bag, with several bullet casings visible on the ground nearby.
Rescuers at the scene said the killer was using a nine-millimetre handgun - and confirmed he was carrying a shoulder-bag containing a magazine.

Wounded teachers were seen being carried away on stretchers from the school
|REUTERS

Students were embraced by their loved ones as they fled the scene of the tragedy
|REUTERS
He still had as many as 30 bullets left on him when he was apprehended.
"When I arrived, it was total chaos as students that we received outside were also injured in the back, chest, and arms," one paramedic said.
One of the pupils inside as the tragedy unfolded said: "We started hearing some noise in Building Five, and we had no idea what happened after that.
"At first, I thought they were sounds of firecrackers or someone banging onto something loudly. But then we started realising they were not.
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PICTURED: The gunman's weapon. He was taken to hospital after turning the gun on himself
|REUTERS

Some pupils said they didn't think the bangs ringing out through the school were gunfire
|REUTERS
"And then it started getting more frequent, like 'bang, bang, bang' and then it went quiet at one point.
"And the shooting started again. I didn't think it was the sound of a gun. After that, we went to the toilet, we thought it was over. I walked over there when a teacher shouted: 'Quickly run here, he's gone to Building Four.' So we had to run here."
The school is a branch of the Debsirin School in Nonthaburi, on the outskirts of Bangkok.
Debsirin is one of Thailand's most prestigious institutions and counts former prime ministers among its alumni.

Students left their shoes behind them as they raced out of the building
|REUTERS
Thailand's current Prime Minister, however, said this morning: "This is why the government do not allow [citizens] to posses firearms."
In the southeast Asian nation, illegal possesion of firearms can end in a sentence of up to 10 years, though the country still has one of the highest civilian gun ownership rates the region.
"This is really bad, it shouldn't have happened," the Prime Minister added.
"I don't just feel sorry for the victims but I feel sorry that this happened. How can this happen in our country?"





