On February 11, Thai police arrested a suspect in the shooting that killed the principal of a school and injured two others in Hat Yai district, Songkhla province.
According to the Thai Central Bureau of Investigation, the 18-year-old suspect was shot and injured to end the hostage-taking after attacking Phatong Prathan Keeriwat School.
The school principal was seriously injured and taken to the hospital, where she was confirmed dead, according to local radio.
Local media reported that police had previously received a report of an 18-year-old young man committing violence and trying to harm his mother at a house near the school.
While functional forces were trying to control the situation, the suspect was said to have robbed an M4 rifle from the police. This person then ran into the school grounds at 4:45 pm (local time), right before school, on Thetsaban 31, in Phatong village.
The Songkhla provincial government said in a statement that the suspect entered the school in "a state of agitation and carrying a gun".
Gunfire rang out in one of the classrooms, causing panic among teachers and students.
Police and special operations units quickly cordoned off the area, evacuated people to safe places and began negotiations with the gunman.
Local media quoted witnesses as saying that the suspect met a teacher who had disciplined his younger sister - currently a student at the school. This person is said to have threatened to use violence if the teacher did not come out to meet.
