Thailand school shooting: PM vows tougher gun laws after eight killed

Dubai: Thailand’s prime minister Anutin Charnvirakul has vowed to introduce tougher gun-control laws after a 14-year-old boy allegedly carried out a shooting spree that left eight people dead and at least 22 others injured.

According to a BBC report, the teenager is alleged to have first killed his 73-year-old grandfather and 74-year-old grandmother at the two-storey flat they shared on Friday.

He then travelled to Debsirin School in Nonthaburi, where he was a student, carrying the firearm and dozens of bullets.

The teenager has attended his first and second class. About 30 minutes into the second class, he has allegedly pulled out the gun and began shooting. He later shot himself and has been found by police.

The teenager is believed to have first opened fire on the school’s sixth floor, killing three teachers. He then walked downstairs, where he has encountered the school’s deputy director and the director’s secretary. Both have been shot and killed on the staircase, police major general Dejrapee Kongdee told Reuters.

Five people have been initially reported killed and at least 23 wounded. Thai media have later revealed that an additional victim had died from their injuries, taking the death toll to eight.

Thailand’s national police chief general Kittiratt Phanphet, has noted that forensic officers found that the teenager’s shooting appeared to be accurate, with several bullets striking vital areas of the body.

Speaking after the attack, Anutin has shared that he planned to introduce legislation restricting the carrying of firearms in public. 

Under the proposed rules, only government officials carrying out their duties would be allowed to carry guns.

The prime minister has described the shooting as a tragedy that “shouldn’t have happened” and questioned how such an attack could have taken place in Thailand.

He has also regarded the attack as “well prepared,” with “clear steps and clear goals.”

Anutin has previously introduced several gun-control measures while serving as interior minister, including a temporary ban on new gun licences and restrictions on firearm imports.

In the BBC report, police colonel Thadsakorn Konthong has bared that the gun and bullets used in the attack belonged to the teenager’s grandfather.

An initial inspection has reportedly found signs that the firearm had been searched for inside the grandfather’s bedroom.

The teenager boarded a school bus after killing his grandparents and travelled to school with the firearm and ammunition. 

Police have been deployed to the school while the shooting was taking place and later found the teenager after he had taken his own life.

Local media reports have cited that police searched devices belonging to the teenager and found several videos related to school shootings in the US. Family members have described the teenager as “quiet and well behaved.”

His uncle told Thai media that the teenager has spent much of his time indoors playing violent video games and rarely went outside. The uncle has pointed out that there had been no indication that the teenager was planning an attack.

The teenager has been living with his grandparents after his parents divorced.

Thailand has one of the highest rates of civilian gun ownership in Southeast Asia, with around 10.3 million firearms estimated to be in civilian possession.

Around four million of those firearms have been believed to be illegally owned.

Thailand already has strict gun laws. Illegal possession of firearms can carry a prison sentence of up to 10 years, but enforcement has remained a challenge.