Thai Teen Kills 7 in a Rampage

Synopsis

A 14-year-old student of Thailand’s Debsirin School in Nonthaburi created a deadly rampage, killing 7 people and his grandparents before taking his own life. The incident has been reported to be one of the deadliest school shootings in the country in recent years.

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Who is Thailand’s School Shooter?

While the boy’s name has not been officially revealed yet, reports suggest he was a Class 9 student at the Debsirin School in Nonthaburi. Thailand’s Deputy Interior Minister Polapee Suwanchawee, said that the boy was an avid gamer. Meanwhile, a teacher at his school said that the boy was a good kid and was not violent at all.

The authorities have reported that the gun that the boy was using was a 9mm handgun which belonged to his grandfather, who also happened to be a teacher.

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Thailand’s public health minister stated that the boy had already killed his grandparents at home, where they were later found dead, before he left to commit the massacre at his school.

The Massacre at School

"There were many shots: bang bang bang. Then it went quiet. Then it started again.”, said one 18-year-old student who initially thought that the gunshots were firecrackers.

The events that unfolded left all the students and the teachers traumatised. They fled out of the school in numbers. The wounded were loaded into the ambulance, and the ones who got out unharmed held each other in a state of panic and cried.

According to the police reports, the boy fired at least 26 bullets using the gun. The rampage resulted in the death of 7 people. Education Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong confirmed that both teachers and students were among those who were reported to be dead. He also shot his grandparents at home, and in the end took his own

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Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said, after consultation with the officials, that the boy was going through stress regarding his studies and lived with his grandparents; the police are still investigating the motive behind the incident.

Gun Ownership in Thailand?

According to 2017 data from the Switzerland-based Small Arms Survey (SAS), there were more than 10.3 million civilian-owned firearms in Thailand, or around 15 guns for every 100 people. Therefore, concluding the fact that gun ownership in Thailand is high compared to that of other countries in Southeast Asia.

Right after the Philippines, Thailand ranks as the second Southeast Asian country to have the highest number of gun homicides according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington’s 2019 Global Burden of Disease database. Hence, this is not the first time that Thailand has witnessed such an incident.

The Condition in Thailand

While Thailand has previously witnessed many such brutal incidents over the years, the recent one was earlier this very year in February, when a school principal and a female student were shot by an 18-year-old boy during a similar rampage in southern Thailand.

However, after this brutal incident was uncovered, the Prime Minister vowed to impose strict firearms control laws in the country.