The scene of the crime at Nak Nava Upatham School. - The Nation/ANN
BANGKOK: An eighth grader, described as a boy with special needs, allegedly stabbed his classmate to death on Monday (Jan 29) morning over reported bullying, police and school officials said.
The stabbing incident at the Nak Nava Upatham School on Soi Patanakarn 26 took place at 8.30am, just after the morning assembly, school staff said.
All classes were cancelled as parents rushed to take their children home after learning about the stabbing on TV news.
The Klong Tan Police Station received a report on the fatal stabbing at 8.40am.
Friends of the victim and the attacker told reporters that they saw the victim teasing the boy, believed to be aged 13, as they were entering their classroom on the second floor after singing the national anthem at the morning assembly.
The alleged attacker, who is normally very quiet, pulled out his fruit knife and stabbed the neck of the victim.
The injured boy then ran downstairs to try and escape, but the attacker rushed after him and again stabbed him on the right side of his neck, causing the victim to fall to the floor in the basketball stadium.
School staff rushed to tend to the victim and tried to keep him awake, while others overpowered the attacker.
Staff members said the boy with special needs was mostly quiet and his classmates often teased him. They also said that the victim was not a close friend of the attacker and that they were still in the dark about what was behind the quarrel.
Tech Tung Foundation rescue staff arrived at the scene but failed to resuscitate the victim. The boy was then rushed to Vibharam General Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The incident prompted Pol Maj-General Witthawat Chinkham, commander of Metropolitan Police Division 5, to rush to the scene to personally oversee the investigation.
The alleged attacker was then taken to Klong Tan Police Station for interrogation in the presence of his parents and social workers from the Social Development and Human Security Ministry.
Meanwhile, Amarin TV reported that some parents knew that the alleged attacker was a boy with special needs and had warned their children not to tease or bully him. - The Nation/ANN
