E-Paper
3 injured in Thailand school shooting, gunman shot at, arrested; hostages freed
Several videos surfaced on social media showing students and others fleeing the active shooting area. The people were seen rushing and taking shelter.
A gunman opened fire at a school in southern Thailand, taking students and teachers into custody, and injuring several others, multiple reports said on Wednesday.
The gunman, an 18-year-old man, was shot at and arrested, while all the hostages were freed, AFP reported.
Three people have also been injured in the shooting incident, which occurred in Hat Yai district in southern Thailand.
The incident unfolded after the gunman opened fired shots at Phatong Prathan Khiriwat School at Songkhla Province on Wednesday, a police official said.
As soon as the gunman entered the school, "two to three gunshots were heard", the government said. He then took several student and teachers hostage.
A government statement said that the gunman entered the school in “an agitated state while carrying a gun.” He was later shot at and arrested.
"Police shot the suspect in the Hat Yai shooting," Thailand's Central Investigation Bureau said in a statement.
Several videos surfaced on social media showing students and others fleeing the active shooting area. The people were seen rushing and taking shelter.
"The perpetrator has been captured," Deputy Superintendent Wichian Soboon said.
Three people have been injured in the incident, including a women and a 14-year-old girl. The two injured have been hospitalised with gunshot wounds, the country's ministry of public health said. Another child also suffered an ankle injury after falling from a height.
