She was one of eight victims in shootings at a home and school that took place two days ago.
The fourteen-year-old attacker shot his grandparents who raised him at a home north of Bangkok on Friday. Before killing himself, using his grandfather’s pistol, he killed six more people at the school, officials said.
Investigators are still looking for the motive behind the crime. Police officers said on Sunday that the teenager watched violent videos online and had once brought an air gun to school. Earlier, officials said he experienced stress related to studies, and a classmate hinted that the teenager was bullied.
Mourning people dressed in black gathered on Sunday at the “Wat Lat Pla Duk” pavilion in Nonthaburi province, bordering Bangkok. The murdered student Naphat Chaima (Nafat Chaima) was lying in state here, and other rites were being performed.
According to police data, she died in hospital on Saturday after suffering gunshot wounds at school. Five teachers and school staff also died on Friday.
People gently poured water over the deceased’s hand in turns, others burned incense and prayed with their hands folded.
“She was a good girl. A child who liked to participate in all activities,” said the girl’s music teacher, who did not want to disclose her name.
“She loved to dance,” she said.
As noted by an AFP journalist, several psychologists provided assistance to grieving children supervised by their parents.
Another woman said her 12-year-old daughter was a classmate of the murdered girl. They attended a dance club together.
“This family lost a daughter. I came to support the mother,” who lost her child too early, she told the AFP news agency.
She said she wanted the school to tighten security, raising the question of how the teenage shooter could bring a weapon and ammunition to school.
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However, in her words, this incident was ultimately “uncontrollable.”
Her daughter managed to leave the school building through the back door physically unharmed, the woman added.
“The real reason”
Investigators interviewed 17 witnesses and are checking the teenager’s computer and phone to determine the “real reason for the shooting,” the deputy head of the capital region police, Atthapol Anusit, told journalists earlier.
“We reviewed his computer and found a history that he watched violent videos on social networks,” said A. Anusit.
“From interviews with children, we learned that last year he brought an air gun to school, but a teacher took it away,” he said.
Witnesses told police that the teenager had been interested in weapons for a year or two, said A. Anusit, adding that he learned to use them by watching content on social networks.
According to the official, the child lived with his grandparents since he was two years old, when his parents divorced.
Local media reported that the teenager’s father apologized on Friday “to the public for what my son did.”
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the boy experienced stress related to school, and the deceased grandmother was a former teacher who “demanded studying quite strictly.”
Thailand has one of the highest gun ownership rates in the region: approximately 10 million firearms circulate among the population, which corresponds to about one gun for every seven people.
Officials promised stricter gun laws after Friday’s shooting, but previous promises did not prevent recurring attacks.
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