NAKHON RATCHASIMA: An investigation is underway into who fired the shot that wounded a boy student at a school in Muang district on Tuesday, Pol Col Prasit Premkamol said on Wednesday.
Peerapat Sae Ngow, 13, a Mathayom 1 student, was with other students under a tent cheering a volleyball game at Suranaree 2 School when he was shot in the right hip on Tuesday.
The boy was admitted to Maharat Nakhon Ratchasima Hospital where the bullet was removed and the wound cleaned and stitched. He was declared out of danger.
Pol Col Prasit, the Muang police chief, said on Wednesday it was not known who fired the bullet or what kind of weapon it came from. Police had examined the area and questioned the students who were there at the time, but so far had no idea what led to the shooting or who did it.
He ruled out the possibility the shot might have been fired by a student involved in disturbance outside the school about the same time. He said that happened far from the volleyball court.
The school director, Phitsanu Khunchuen, said an official complaint had been filed with police.
"It was still not clear what actually happened. All we can do is wait for the outcome of the police investigation," he said.
Mr Phitsanu also said the students who were seen running about outside the school at the time were not involved in a brawl, as was incorrectly reported by some television channels.
Mr Phitsanu said staff had questioned 50-60 students about the incident at the volleyball court. It was possible the bullet that hit Peerapat came from a pen gun belonging to a Mathayom 5 student.
However, the information was still unclear and more solid evidence was needed to bring an accusation against him, Mr Phitsanu said.