The shooting at Thepsirin Nonthaburi School: the sister of the deputy director of discipline contacted the forensic institute to prepare to receive the body for funeral rites. She revealed that the three grandchildren are still unaware of their father's death. They met at the scene, still showing two fingers in encouragement and support of each other.
At 18:00 on 7 August, reporters described the atmosphere at the forensic institute of Police Hospital as relatives arrived gradually to see the bodies of the deceased from the shooting at Thepsirin Nonthaburi School. Volunteers from the Poh Teck Tung Foundation brought the bodies for autopsy amid an atmosphere of grief.
Mrs. Ayuree Khunpiak, 48, a primary school teacher in Prachinburi Province and sister of Mr. Kittipong Somrat, 46, deputy director of discipline and one of the deceased, traveled with her husband from Prachinburi and some relatives. She said with sorrow that the deceased was the fourth of five siblings (four women, one man). He had a family with three children: the eldest nine years old, the youngest two or three. He loved his family dearly. He had transferred to teach here during the COVID period and had never spoken about the disciplinary students. Normally, he often took his family to visit her in Prachinburi.
At the time of the incident, she was teaching at a school in Prachinburi Province, which had just completed an emergency drill rehearsal with students when she was told an incident had occurred at Thepsirin Nonthaburi School, where her brother worked.
At first, she tried calling people at the school and was told they had not seen her brother, which eased her mind. She called the family to say he might not be at the scene. But later, when she could not reach him and was called by someone from the school to come there, she immediately realized something bad had happened.
Upon hearing the news, she quickly grabbed her car keys and traveled from Prachinburi to Nonthaburi. Upon arrival at the school, officials had cordoned off the crime scene, and she met her sister-in-law, who had arrived earlier.
The most heartbreaking thing for the family is that Mr. Kittipong had three children, all safe from the incident, but at that time, the children did not know their father had died. Before the children at the scene raised two fingers to encourage her to stay strong.
Mrs. Ayuree added that the family has not told the children the truth yet. Especially at first, when the grandchildren asked where their father was, she could only say, “Dad went to work,” before placing the children in the care of close relatives.
The family in Sisaket Province was devastated upon hearing the news. Their mother fainted while the father was en route. The family waited for confirmation until they saw the scene photos and recognized the body lying in a pool of blood as their brother, losing almost all hope despite others trying to offer comfort.
Mr. Kittipong was dedicated to his teaching career, currently at a special-expert level. He had spoken about his goals to develop work methods at the school to advance to an expert-level position. He had already planned and prepared his work but died before achieving these goals.
The sister believes her brother died helping students and staff because of his brave and decisive nature and his role in discipline. “I never thought it would be my brother. If it had been another deputy, would he have come out? But my brother was very brave. He died fulfilling his duty.”
She also said that as a teacher herself, she always teaches her students not only academics but to be good and moral people. Children don't need to be the best academically; growing up to be good citizens is enough. She never expected her family to suffer such a violent loss within an educational setting.
Reports state that Mr. Kittipong tried to assist students during the incident before being shot and killed later.
Mrs. Ayuree tearfully revealed that the family intends to bring the body back to perform religious rites in their hometown in Sisaket Province. They have already discussed procedures with officials and have been informed that assistance will be provided for transporting the body back to their home area.