Two Wounded as Thai Police Detain 18-Year-Old After Hostage Standoff at Hat Yai School

Overview

• Police ended an hours-long standoff at Phatong/Patong Prathan Khiriwat School by shooting and detaining the suspect and freeing the hostages.
• Authorities said the injured include the school director and a 15-year-old student, who were taken to a hospital.
• The incident unfolded in Hat Yai, Songkhla province near the Malaysia border, after classes as hundreds of students evacuated in panic.
• Officials identified the suspect as 18 years old, reported locally as a high-school student, and said he carried an M4 submachine gun.
• Police reported prior erratic behavior by the suspect, including threats to harm his mother, and the case has been handed to provincial and central investigators.