Thai PM vows stricter gun checks after Thai student opens fire killing at least seven

Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has said he plans to introduce new gun laws that restrict the carrying of firearms in public after a 14-year-old student opened fire at his home and school on the outskirts of Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, killing at least seven and injuring over 22 people.

The gunman — a student at the Debsirin School in Nonthaburi — killed his two grandparents and five school staff using his grandfather’s handgun before taking his own life, national police said in a statement.

Speaking to reporters following the incident, thai PM Charnvirakul said: “From now on, checks will be made and if civilians are found to be carrying arms illegally, they will be arrested.”

Charnvirakul also said the teen attacker still had “more than 30 bullets left” when he turned the gun on himself.

Nine of the injured people remain in a critical condition, authorities say. The incident marks Thailand’s second school shooting this year.

Gun ownership and gun violence are not uncommon in Thailand, which has seen a series of deadly shootings in the past six years, with children among the victims.

Read more: https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/thailand-school-shooting-leaves-eight-dead/xddqhohzm

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