Bangkok [Thailand], August 8 – A 14-year-old boy shot dead eight people including his grandparents and five teachers before taking his own life in a mass shooting in Thailand on Friday, prompting the government to announce plans for tougher gun control laws.
The attack began at around 5 am local time in the outskirts of Bangkok where the teenager allegedly fatally shot his 73-year-old grandfather and 74-year-old grandmother. Police said he then took the firearm and dozens of rounds of ammunition to his school where he opened fire killing five teachers and injuring 22 other people.
Thai media reported that one student who was critically injured later died bringing the death toll excluding the gunman to eight. The teenager died after shooting himself at the scene.
Police said the weapon used in the attack was legally registered to the boy’s grandfather and had been taken from his bedroom before the shooting.
Following the incident, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul described the tragedy as unacceptable and announced plans to introduce stricter firearms legislation. The proposed law would ban civilians from carrying guns in public allowing only government officials on duty to do so.
Thailand is estimated to have around 10.3 million civilian-owned firearms including roughly four million believed to be illegally possessed, highlighting longstanding concerns over gun ownership and public safety.
