A gunman opened fire with a machine gun and took hostages inside a school in Thailand, according to reports.
The attacker reportedly wounded teachers and pupils during the rampage at Patong Prathan Kiriwat School in Songkhla province, near the Malaysian border.
Armed police arrived at the scene as hundreds of youngsters fled onto the roads outside, shortly after the end of the day’s lessons.
Local media reported that the number of injuries was not known. There were a number of teachers and pupils trapped inside the building.
Officers in the Hat Yai district said they were attempting to negotiate with the gunman.
A security guard who escaped from the shooter said the gunman had shot the headmaster.
A gunman opened fire with a machine gun and took hostages inside a school in Thailand today, according to reports
The attacker is said to have injured teachers and pupils in the rampage before taking hostages at the Patong Prathan Kiriwat School in Songkhla province, near the border with Malaysia
He said: ‘A bullet grazed my stomach, but I escaped. The school director was shot. There were still children inside the school who have been taken hostage.’
Police in the Thung Lung district said they had received reports of the gunman, who is believed to be 18, behaving erratically and threatening to harm his mother at a house near the school.
When officers arrived to subdue him, the suspect allegedly carried an M4 submachine gun and walked into the school, where he opened fire, seriously injuring the school principal, and took a teacher and students hostage.
