'Don't call me': Thai student messaged mum as she hid from school shooter

Thailand school shooting toll rises to nine after death of 12-year-old girl, police say Sun 9 Aug 2026 at 10:31am In short: The number of people killed in a mass shooting in Thailand has risen to nine. A 12-year-old schoolgirl injured on Friday has died in hospital. Police say a 14-year-old boy killed his grandparents and then opened fire at a high school before turning the gun on himself. A schoolgirl has died from her wounds after a student opened fire at a high school and his home outside Bangkok on Friday. The shooting also claimed the lives of three teachers and two school officials at Debsirin Nonthaburi School in Nonthaburi province north-west of the Thai capital. The 14-year-old suspect appeared to have killed his two grandparents at his family home earlier in the morning. He was confirmed dead after turning the gun on himself. The Thai Health Ministry said a 12-year-old girl had died in hospital. The school had posted a message on Facebook on Friday seeking blood donations for two students, including the girl, who was in seventh grade. Fourteen people remain in hospital, of whom seven remain in critical condition. Most of those wounded were between 12 and 14 years old. Students barricaded classrooms "I heard multiple gunshots and felt like we weren't going to survive," 14-year-old Khim, who asked to be only identified by her nickname, told Reuters on Saturday, describing how her classmates moved desks to block a door, turned off the lights and huddled together near the classroom windows. Her mother messaged her to warn about the shooter as she was trapped inside her classroom. "I told her, 'Mom, don't call me, because the ringtone might go off.'" Over the shooting's approximately 40 minutes, photographs of the alleged shooter stalking around the school circulated through student chat groups. "Then, I heard a bang that was extremely loud. It felt like it was right next to my ear," said Khim, describing the terror that descended on the classroom as she realised that the gunman was only a few doors down the corridor. "I didn't know if the shooter was shooting selectively. I didn't know if he wanted to shoot the whole school." Khim's class received instructions to evacuate as police secured parts of the school — but the shooter had moved on to the next building, where Khim's older sister was still hiding. "Count the shots to see if he's out," Khim's mother Kwan — who also asked to be identified by a nickname — told her elder daughter over the phone. She had guessed the shooter was using a handgun, which would not hold more than 20 rounds. Police said the alleged shooter had used at least 26 bullets. Another 34 rounds were found in his possession. As the sound "kept getting closer and closer", Kwan called an emergency hotline, on which the operator told her a specialised police unit had arrived at the school. "I told them, 'Right now, I am on speakerphone with my child. He is on the second floor, clearing rooms one by one from the right side,'" Kwan said. Some hours later, the family were reunited at their home in suburban Bangkok, not far from the school. "When we are together, we fight all the time," Khim said of her elder sibling. "But seeing her this time, I've never loved her this much before." Reuters/AP [Image text:] snwawunnnsanunisuudnunuunus