A student who survived the mass shooting at Debsirin Nonthaburi School in Bangkok on Friday (7/8) fled the shooting zone with her teacher and classmates. When the first explosion was heard, Khim and her classmates peeped from the classroom window before gunfire sounds grew louder and repeated.
A teacher quickly secured the students by moving desks to barricade the door, turning off the lights, and huddling them in a corner of the classroom in Building 5. Khim received a message from her mother warning about the presence of a shooter, then whispered to her mother not to call back because the ringing tone could reveal their location.
As the shooting continued, Khim's older sister hiding in Building 4 called their father, Kwan, who was working from home at a hospital. Kwan asked his daughter to count the number of shots, assuming the gunman was using a pistol that could not hold more than 15 to 20 bullets. According to police, the gunman actually fired at least 26 bullets, with 34 other bullets found in his belongings.
Kwan then called the emergency hotline while continuing to speak with his daughter on another phone, informing the operator that police were checking rooms one by one. The call with his daughter was suddenly cut off, and Kwan began praying until his daughter called back a few minutes later in safety. Several hours later, the family reunited at their home on the outskirts of Bangkok.
The shooting lasted approximately 40 minutes, with the gunman shooting three teachers and two school staff members before shooting himself. According to police, the gunman also fatally shot his grandfather and grandmother at home earlier that morning before boarding a bus to the school and opening fire around 10.00 local time.
