Thai principal, 54, who shielded students during school shooting & told gunman to take her hostage instead, dies

A school principal has died of her injuries after a gunman opened fire at her school in Thailand's Hat Yai district.

Sasiphat Sinsamosorn was a teacher who also served as the director of the school, according to Reuters.

In the afternoon of Feb. 11, an 18-year-old entered Patongprathankhiriwat School with an M4 rifle he stole from a police officer, and held 300 students hostage.

He shot Sinsamosorn and a female student, who is currently in stable condition, BBC reported.

Sinsamosorn was rushed to an intensive care unit for surgery, but passed away at around 2am on Feb. 12 due to internal organ injuries and significant blood loss, the Thailand Health Ministry said.

Another student jumped out of a second-storey window trying to flee the siege, but her condition has been reported stable, according to Thailand's The Nation.

After a roughly two-hour standoff, the gunman was shot by the police and arrested.

Protected students

Sinsamosorn reportedly offered herself as a hostage to protect a student during the attack, according to The Nation.

Tributes have poured in online, with many praising her selfless actions.

A former colleague of hers at a different school shared that when the gunman took a female student hostage, Sinsamosorn negotiated with him to take the student's place.

"In that moment, with the spirit of a teacher, she stepped forward to protect her student," the former colleague said.

It was this decision that caused Sinsamosorn to be shot and critically wounded, the Thailand Ministry of Education wrote in a tribute post.

Her actions will be remembered as those of a teacher who protected students with her life, the ministry said.

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