Schools in Thailand held active shooter drills on Wednesday, as authorities moved to beef up security two weeks after a 14-year-old opened fire on a school, killing at least eight people.
At Surasamuntri School in Bangkok, students participated in a “run, hide, fight” exercise, with a black-clad police officer acting as a mock attacker, armed with a pistol and an assault rifle firing blanks.
The students fled from the gunman and hid under tables and behind closed doors, while others used furniture to block the entrances. In one scenario, students tackled and pinned the attacker after he entered the classroom.
The drills follow a directive signed by Education Minister Prasert Jantararwangtung on August 10, which requires schools to develop security plans and practice emergency response procedures.
“Every school is responding because this is a new-age threat that can happen anywhere,” said Vizitsak Vipatanamongkul, supervisor of the explosive ordnance disposal unit in the police’s patrol and special operations division.
