BANGKOK, Aug 9 (Reuters) - The Thai teen behind a deadly school shooting outside Bangkok had an air gun confiscated by a teacher last year and had watched violent content online, police said on Sunday, as the government promised new safety protocols for schools.
As investigations continued into Friday's rampage, where a 14-year-old boy allegedly shot dead his grandparents at home before killing another six people at his school before turning the gun on himself, police said the boy had used social media to learn how to use a firearm.
"According to witness interviews, the perpetrator had begun showing interest in studying the use of firearms for some time, about one to two years," Atthapol Anusit, deputy commissioner of the Provincial Police Region 1, told reporters.
The boy's mother, however, said she'd seen no signs of trouble.
"He was a bright, cheerful person," she told Reuters, asking that her name not be used. "He behaved normally."
She said she had asked him if he'd ever been bullied. "He always said no, there was nothing unusual."
TEACHER CONFISCATED BB GUN LAST YEAR
Atthapol, who said police had so far interviewed 17 witnesses, said a knife had also been found in the boy's bag and other evidence found at the crime scenes included a firearm, spent cartridge cases, and a personal computer.
"After examining the PC, it was found that the child had watched social media content involving violence," the deputy commissioner said, but added there was no evidence yet that he had practiced shooting.
He said that last year a teacher had confiscated a BB gun, a type of air gun, that the boy took to school. The boy had lived with his grandparents for 12 years after his parents had separated, Atthapol said.
The Ministry of Education said it would develop new safety protocols over the next three months, including mental health screenings and a system to refer at-risk people to specialists, drills for emergency response plans, a drive to stamp out bullying and better detection to stop items from being taken into schools.
Along with those who died, more than 20 people were injuredin Thailand's worst mass shooting since 2022, which has reignited debate over firearms control in Southeast Asia's largest gun-owning nation.
The boy lived with his grandparents, and his mother said she last saw him during a recent school holiday.
"On the day it happened, I didn't know he was the one who did it," she said, adding that she sent him messages and tried to call when she heard there had been a shooting. "I just told him, if anything's wrong, contact me, I’m worried, that's all it was."
She apologised for his actions.
"We are truly devastated, because no one thought this would happen."
(Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat and Napat Wesshasartar; Writing by John Mair and Josh Smith; Editing by Lincoln Feast; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
