BREAKING: Man takes his child hostage at school in southern Thailand

A Thai man has reportedly taken his own child hostage at Phubodin Pittayalai School in the Lang Suan district of Chum Phon province in the southern part of Thailand.

ThaiRath reported that a Thai man entered a school with a rifle at around 7am today, looking for his child. Once he found his child, both left the school together. Officers from Lang Suan Police Station arrived at the scene and tried to persuade the man to surrender and release the child.

Nawit Chinaburarat, the school’s director, affirmed that all students are safe, as teachers strictly followed security protocols to protect all of them. Nawit revealed that the man had threatened a teacher with his rifle when he could not find his child but seemed to relax once his child appeared and agreed to leave with him. Nawit speculated that the incident might have resulted from some misunderstandings.

Nawit added that ten minutes after the incident occurred, officers successfully pressured the man to leave the school. As per the report, the officers tried to arrange a meeting with the perpetrator at a nearby location outside the school, however, the man left the school with his child with his destination as yet unreported.

The latest update states that the man drove his Mitsubishi Pajero sedan out of the school, but the destination is still unclear. The officers visited the house of a relative, but he was not there.

The man’s identity and motive have not yet been revealed, and further information will be disclosed later.