In a tragic and all-too-familiar tale from Thailand, a ninth-grade student (about 14 years old, because apparently that's the age when you start collecting firearms instead of Pokémon cards) went on a shooting spree on Friday in the Bang Kruai district of Nonthaburi province, killing eight people in total, police confirmed.

The suspect's day began with a family visit of the worst kind: he shot his grandparents dead using his grandfather's handgun, then headed to his school, the Debsirin Nonthaburi School on Bangkok's outskirts, where he killed three teachers and three students. Lt. Col. Dechrapee Kongdee, the Nonthaburi provincial police commander, confirmed that the suspected gunman then took his own life, because of course he did - leaving everyone else to pick up the pieces.

Police reported that the suspect fired 26 rounds, and another 34 rounds of ammunition were found at the scene. That's a lot of ammo for someone who should have been worrying about algebra homework. This marks the second school shooting in Thailand this year, following a February incident in the south where a teacher died and a student was injured.

Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, leader of the People's Party, called the shooting "another wake-up call to Thai society," urging a "systematic approach to gun control measures" and enhanced school security. He offered "deepest condolences" to the victims and injured, because that's what you say when your country's gun laws are about as effective as a wet paper bag.

Thailand has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the region, with about 10 million firearms in circulation - one for every seven inhabitants. Past promises of reform haven't stopped the carnage: in 2022, an ex-policeman killed 24 children and 12 adults at a nursery, one of the country's deadliest massacres.

Health Minister Pattana Promphat reported 22 people injured, nine in critical condition, with some injuries from falls and an unclear number from gunshots. The shooter remained inside the school after the attack began, while students hid in classrooms and heard gunshots from another building before police cleared them out.

The Debsirin School, founded by the Thai royal family, had about 3,100 students and 147 teachers in the 2025 academic year. Its alumni include prime ministers, scholars, and writers - a legacy now shadowed by this tragedy. As Thailand grapples with yet another shooting, one can only hope that this "wake-up call" doesn't get snoozed like the others.