HAT YAI, Thailand — A teacher and school director wounded in a Thailand school shooting died early Thursday after emergency surgery, and police detained a 17-year-old student suspected of stealing a police officer’s handgun and opening fire at Patongprathankiriwat School. The attack happened late Wednesday and the teacher died hours later, Feb. 12, 2026.
Thailand school shooting in Hat Yai: what happened
Authorities said the Thailand school shooting began after the teen caused a disturbance, attacked a police officer and took the officer’s gun before entering the school. Police surrounded the campus and ended the standoff after about two hours, according to a Reuters account of the hostage standoff.
The teacher was identified by officials as Sasiphat Sinsamosorn, who also served as the school’s director. She was taken to intensive care for surgery but died about 2 a.m. from internal injuries and severe blood loss, Thailand’s Health Ministry said, according to Reuters’ report confirming her death. A female student was also shot, while another student was injured while trying to flee, health officials said.
Thailand school shooting investigation
Police said the suspect was wounded in a gunbattle before being taken into custody. Local officials described him as a 17-year-old with a history of drug abuse and mental health issues who was discharged from a psychiatric hospital in December. Investigators have not announced a motive, the Associated Press reported.
In a message posted on the school’s Facebook page, staff members mourned Sinsamosorn, saying “although we have lost you, the memories and the goodness you left behind will remain in our heart forever,” according to Reuters.
Thailand school shooting renews scrutiny of gun access
The Thailand school shooting has renewed questions about how firearms circulate in a country where gun ownership is widespread despite strict laws. Data cited by AP from Small Arms Survey and GunPolicy.org estimated Thailand had about 10.3 guns per 100 people in 2017 — and 15.1 per 100 when illegal weapons are included — compared with less than one per 100 in neighboring Malaysia.
Older cases that shaped the debate
The latest Thailand school shooting comes as the country continues to reckon with prior mass attacks. In 2022, a former police officer killed dozens of people, including children, in a day care center rampage in northeast Thailand, as detailed in a Reuters report on the Nong Bua Lamphu massacre.
In 2020, a soldier angry over a land dispute went on a 16-hour rampage that killed at least 29 people, much of it centered on a shopping mall in Nakhon Ratchasima, according to an AP chronology of the Korat mass shooting.
And in 2023, a 14-year-old opened fire inside Bangkok’s Siam Paragon mall, killing two people and wounding five before being arrested, AP reported.
Officials in Songkhla province said security around schools would be reviewed as investigators continue questioning the suspect and examining how the handgun was taken and used. The Thailand school shooting is expected to intensify pressure for stronger enforcement against illegal weapons and expanded mental health and addiction support for at-risk youths.
