School shooting probe finds violent games and US school-shooting searches
Police say the 14-year-old suspect had searched a US school shooting and are examining his computer as they investigate a motive for the Nonthaburi attack
Police investigating the shooting at Debsirin Nonthaburi School are examining the online activity of the 14-year-old suspect after finding that he had searched for information about a school shooting in the United States, while investigators continue to establish a motive.
Police also believe the teenager killed his grandparents at their home in Bang Khu Rat subdistrict, Bang Bua Thong district, before travelling to the school on Friday morning (August 7). Their bodies were found after officers and forensic teams entered the property.
Pol Lt Gen Wattana Yichin, Commissioner of Provincial Police Region 1, inspected the house as part of the investigation.
The front door had been locked from the outside, according to police. Investigators believe the teenager left the house after the deaths and then travelled to Debsirin Nonthaburi School, where the later shooting occurred.
Police examine computer and search history
Investigators are analysing the teenager’s computer as they try to determine what led to the attacks.
Preliminary checks found that he played computer games containing violent themes and had searched for and studied information about a school shooting in the United States. The report said the searches were recorded from around July 30.
Police have not established that the games or search history caused or motivated the shootings. Investigators are continuing to examine possible factors, including whether there were problems involving the teenager at school.
Information provided to police by the teenager’s uncle indicated that he had lived with his grandparents since childhood, spent considerable time playing computer games and generally kept to himself. The relative reported no known history of disputes or obvious signs of stress before the incident.
The firearm involved was legally registered to the teenager’s grandfather, according to the report.
Police said the investigation remained focused on establishing the sequence of events and determining what, if any, factors contributed to the attacks.
Thananyaporn, 60, the younger sister of the boy’s late grandfather and a grandmother of the student involved, said he normally lived with his grandparents. His parents had separated, and his grandparents had raised him and loved him very much.
She said he rarely went out. His grandfather would take him to school in the morning and pick him up in the evening. He did not have a group of friends or go out as other children normally did, but stayed at home and played computer games.
Thananyaporn said she did not believe family problems were involved because the three were very close. The grandmother was a teacher, while the grandfather was a former bank manager who always spoke gently to his grandson. She described the boy as quiet and polite and said she had never thought such an incident would happen.
