Thailand school shooting toll rises to nine after death of 12-year-old girl

The death toll from a school shooting in Thailand rose to nine on Saturday, after police said a 12-year-old girl caught up in Friday's incident had died.

Police at the Plai Bang Police Station in Nonthaburi Province told Reuters the girl had died on Saturday, a day after a 14-year-old boy allegedly shot his grandparents and then killed five more people at his school before turning the gun on himself.

It was also reported by police that the boy behind the shooting had an air gun confiscated by a teacher last year and had watched violent content online, as the government promised new safety protocols for schools.

"According to witness interviews, the perpetrator had begun showing interest in studying the use of firearms for some time, about one to two years," Atthapol Anusit, deputy commissioner of the Provincial Police Region 1, told reporters.

Atthapol, who said police had so far interviewed 17 witnesses, said a knife had also been found in the boy's bag and other evidence found at the crime scenes included a firearm, spent cartridge cases, and a personal computer.

"After examining the PC, it was found that the child had watched social media content involving violence," the deputy commissioner said, but added there was no evidence yet that he had practiced shooting.

The boy had lived with his grandparents for 12 years after his parents had separated, Atthapol said.

The Ministry of Education said it would develop new safety protocols over the next three months, including mental health screenings and a system to refer at-risk people to specialists, drills for emergency response plans, a drive to stamp out bullying and better detection to stop items from being taken into schools.