Eight dead, including teen suspect's grandparents, in Thailand shooting

A teenager described as "troubled" by a classmate killed his grandparents before gunning down at least six more people at a school in Thailand on Friday, police said.

First he shot dead his grandparents, using his grandfather's handgun, then went to a secondary school in Nonthaburi province, bordering Bangkok, and killed three teachers and three students, national police said in a statement.

Dozens of police and emergency responders gathered outside the cordoned-off Debsirin Nonthaburi School on Friday, AFP journalists saw, while parents waited to pick up their children and tearful students and staff comforted each other outside.

"I was afraid that I would die, and I was scared that I wouldn't be able to pursue my dreams," Pawarisa Maylissa, a grade 12 student who hopes to attend medical school, told AFP.

"I heard many gunshots very loudly because it seemed the suspect was on the floor directly above us. I could even hear bullets hitting the floor."

Fifteen injured students were not struck by gunfire but hurt as they were trying to flee, deputy interior minister Polapee Suwunchwee told local broadcaster Thai PBS.

Police later said 23 people were injured.