Thai Police Detain Suspect in School Shooting

Thailand has a high rate of firearms per capita and shootings are not uncommon. Thai police announced on Wednesday that they have detained a man suspected of storming into a school and holding teachers and students hostage in the southern part of the country. According to provincial authorities, the incident occurred as classes were ending. It is unknown how many people were inside the school at the time of the incident or the ages of the students. In July of last year, a shooting at a market in Bangkok left three dead, while in 2022, 34 people, including 22 children, were killed after a former police officer attacked a nursery. The armed attacker entered the Patong Prathan Kiriwat school in the city of Hat Yai around 4:45 p.m. local time (9:45 GMT) and fired two or three rounds, after which he held teachers and students hostage, the provincial Public Relations Department previously stated in its Facebook account. Police stated in their Facebook account that the situation is "under control" and "all hostages are safe," while authorities in the southern province of Songkhla, where the incident took place, also confirmed that the suspect had been arrested. Southern Thailand has been a frequent scene of attacks in recent decades due to an insurgency by separatist groups calling for the independence of some areas of Songkhla and three predominantly Muslim provinces. According to the public broadcaster NBT Connext, at least two people have been injured, a teenager and the school principal, and the severity of their injuries is not yet known.