A 15-year-old boy was killed when a pistol was fired in a classroom at a Nonthaburi school, in an incident students and teachers initially pinned on a computer "explosion".
The incident took place Thursday afternoon in a computer class at Wat Lad Pla Duk School in tambon Bang Rak Pattana of Bang Bua Thong district, said Pol Capt Saiyon Thongtha, a duty officer at the Bang Bua Thong police station.
The student, later identified as Noppasil Ngamsud, sustained serious injuries to his face, including a wound about 3–4 centimetres deep near his left eyebrow, police said. Medics rushed to the scene to administer CPR but were unable to save his life, police said.
The initial probe focused on the new computers in the classroom after students and a teacher reportedly told police they had heard an explosion.
The keyboard at the desk where Noppasil was sitting was reportedly damaged and some keycaps flew off. However, police said they couldn't find any other signs of damage to any of the 10 computers.
Initially, Sasina Rakpan, a computer teacher, told police an "explosion" occurred at about 1.30pm, shortly after a group of Grade 9 students sat down for their class. She said she immediately ran to check and found one bloodied student lying unconscious. Other students were then asked to alert other teachers to call police and rescue workers, she said.
One 15-year-old student, who said he was sitting next to the victim, said the explosion occurred about 10 minutes after Noppasil turned off his computer. He said it left him with ringing in his ears. Another classmate who was sitting on the left side of the victim was hit by an object and was slightly hurt, he said.
However, Pol Col Phumthat Khositwanitpong, deputy chief of provincial police, was not satisfied with the statements and ordered investigators to check the wound of the dead student, where they found traces of a bullet that struck his eye.
During the subsequent questioning, one student later confessed to taking a pistol to school "to clear up some problems with his friend", according to a police source.
Paweena Ngamsud, 35, the mother of the victim, said Noppasil was her only child, who was good at computers and never caused problems. She said she's now waiting for more information from forensic police.
Amporn Pinasa, secretary-general of the Office of Basic Education Commission, has ordered an investigation into the school's director over the incident.
A committee will question him over alleged negligence, according to Mr Amporn.