At Least 3 Injured as Teen Gunman Opens Fire and Takes Hostages at School Before Being Arrested by Police

An 18-year-old suspect has been arrested after a shooting and hostage incident at a school in southern Thailand, authorities said.

The attack took place on Wednesday, Feb. 11, at Patongprathankiriwat School in Hat Yai, Songkhla Province, near the Malaysian border. Reports said at least three people were injured and several others were held hostage.

Royal Thai Police said the suspect was taken into custody and that everyone who had been held was safely freed. “The perpetrator has been captured,” Songkhla deputy superintendent Wichian Soboon told Reuters.

Local reporting indicated the school’s director was killed during the attack. Other reports said officers detained the suspect while he was carrying an M4-style weapon.

Witnesses described a tense scene as the suspect entered the school shortly after classes had been dismissed. Officials said gunshots were heard as the situation unfolded, according to the provincial public relations office.

Authorities had earlier received a report about an 18-year-old behaving erratically and allegedly threatening his mother at a nearby home, according to local reports.

A security guard said he was grazed by a bullet during the incident and escaped, adding that the school director was shot and that children remained inside the building as hostages.

Investigators are also reviewing reports that the suspect may have been motivated by anger over a teacher disciplining his younger sister.

Gun ownership and gun violence are a recurring issue in Thailand. In 2022, a former police officer carried out a deadly gun-and-knife attack at a nursery in the country’s east that killed dozens of people, including many children.