An 18-year-old male suspect who entered Patongprathankiriwat School in Hat Yai district, Songkhla Province, earlier on Wednesday has been taken into custody and all individuals who were being held hostage have been released, local authorities said.
The provincial administration reported on social media that the youth entered the school armed. Deputy Superintendent Wichian Soboon said the suspect has been captured and confirmed that two people - a student and a teacher - were wounded during the incident.
Police circulated a photograph showing the suspect restrained on the ground by armed officers; in that image he is barefoot and wearing shorts and a T-shirt. Separate video footage shared by witnesses, which could not immediately be independently verified, shows armed police advancing into the three-storey school while the sounds of gunfire are audible.
Another witness video, likewise not immediately verifiable, records students evacuating down stairwells as officers, some equipped with helmets, black bullet-proof vests and rifles, shouted: "Go home kids, it’s safe." The footage also depicts officers moving through corridors and stairwells during the response.
Authorities did not provide further details about the motive or the sequence of events that led to the shooting and hostage-taking. The account from officials and the circulated imagery confirm the immediate tactical response and the detention of the suspect, while also identifying two injured individuals - a pupil and an educator.
The incident comes amid broader commentary that gun violence and ownership are not uncommon in the country. The account referenced the 2022 case in which a former police officer carried out a gun-and-knife attack at a nursery in the country’s east that resulted in 36 fatalities, including 22 children.
Summary of facts:
- The suspect is an 18-year-old man who entered Patongprathankiriwat School in Hat Yai with a gun.
- All hostages have been freed and the suspect was detained by armed officers.
- Two people - a student and a teacher - were wounded.
- Police images show the suspect barefoot, wearing shorts and a T-shirt, held down on the ground.
- Witness videos show armed police storming the three-storey school as gunfire is heard and students evacuate.