NONTHABURI, Thailand – A Grade 12 student at Debsirin Nonthaburi School has described the terrifying moments during the shooting, saying he relied on an emergency response method learned online to help protect his classmates and keep everyone in the classroom out of harm’s way after a Grade 9 student opened fire inside the school.
Kawinphop said the incident happened while he and his classmates were attending an English class in Building 4. At first, he heard several gunshots and believed they were the sound of someone shooting at birds, something he said was not unusual. However, after opening the classroom door, he saw students running and heard someone shouting that “a teacher had been shot,” making it clear that the situation was serious.
He then looked outside the window and saw the suspect carrying a firearm moving from Building 5 toward Building 4, where his classroom was located. Realizing the danger, Kawinphop and his classmates immediately took action. They closed and locked the classroom door, used desks and chairs to block the entrance, switched off the lights, and told everyone to stay calm and get down on the floor. The students remained silent and hidden for nearly 30 minutes while the suspect passed by their classroom without entering. Police later secured the area and helped evacuate the students safely, with no one in the room injured.
Kawinphop said he remembered the “run-hide” emergency response approach from videos and online media he had seen previously, which helped him act quickly during the crisis. “I was still scared, but if we have to continue coming to school, we need to be prepared,” he said. He called on schools and authorities to strengthen security measures, including stricter checks for firearms and prohibited items, to prevent similar incidents from happening again.
