Principal shot in Thailand school siege dies of injuries

A school principal shot by a gunman who laid siege to the institute in southern Thailand has died in hospital, authorities said.

Sasiphat Sinsamosorn and a female student were shot by the 18-year-old man, who entered the school near the city of Hat Yai shortly before 17:00 local time (10:00 GMT) on Wednesday.

Sasiphat died of her injuries before dawn on Thursday, local police said. The student who was shot is in stable condition. Another student who jumped out of a window during the siege is also still in hospital, police said.

The gunman was arrested after a two-hour standoff that saw a number of students and teachers trapped in the Phatong Prathan Keeriwat School building.

The motive for the attack remains unclear, although local media reports suggest the suspect may have had a grievance with a teacher at the school.

In a Facebook post, the school expressed its "deepest condolences" over the principal's death.

"Although we have lost her, the memories and kindness she left behind will forever remain in our hearts," the post said.

Levels of gun crime are relatively high in Thailand, where gun ownership, both legal and illegal, is widespread.

The country has seen several deadly incidents in recent years.

Last year, five people were killed in a shooting at a food market in Bangkok.

In 2023, a 14-year-old boy killed two people and injured five others in a shooting at a luxury shopping mall in the centre of Bangkok.

A year earlier a former police officer killed 36 people, most of them children, at a kindergarten in north-eastern Thailand, in one of the country's deadliest mass shootings.

Additional reporting by Jonathan Head and Jessica Rawnsley