Hat Yai, Songkhla Province: A gunman who opened fire at a school in Hat Yai district in southern Thailand on Wednesday evening was shot at by the Thai police, reports quoting authorities claimed. “Police shot the suspect in the Hat Yai shooting,” a Reuters report that cited Thailand’s Central Investigation Bureau, claims.
A serious security incident unfolded at Patong Prathankiriwat School in the Hat Yai on Wednesday afternoon when an armed man entered the campus, opened fire and held teachers and students hostage.
According to local authorities and police, the suspect, an 18-year-old man, entered the school grounds armed with a firearm shortly before classes ended for the day and began shooting inside the building. Multiple gunshots were reported around 16:45 local time, prompting panic among students and staff.
Witnesses and local media said the assailant briefly took an unknown number of teachers and students hostage inside the school. During the chaotic sequences that followed, several people — including at least one teacher and one student — were reportedly injured and rushed to hospital for medical treatment.
Thai special police units and rescue teams quickly responded, surrounding the school and evacuating students to safety. Negotiations and tactical operations continued for over an hour before authorities detained the suspect, ending the hostage situation. All the people taken hostage were freed by the police.
Officials confirmed that at least two people — a teacher and a student — were wounded in the incident, according to a Hindustan Times report. The injured were taken to nearby medical facilities, but the full count of casualties has not been officially disclosed.
