Thailand tightens gun control after deadly school shooting
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Thailand is tightening firearm control following last week’s deadly school shooting, which left nine people dead, including the 14-year-old gunman.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Tuesday ordered a nationwide tightening of firearms control, suspending gun purchase permits and cracking down on illegally held and black-market weapons through both emergency and long-term measures.
On August 7, the secondary school of Debsirin Nonthaburi on the outskirts of Bangkok became a scene of violence when a 14-year-old student opened fire. At least nine dead. More than twenty others were wounded.
A 12-year-old girl was wounded in the shooting when a bullet lodged in her foot. Even with her own injury, she knew others had been hit far worse.
“My daughter said, ‘Please operate on my teacher first. My teacher’s condition is more serious than mine.’ Doctors performed many X-ray checks before locating the bullet deep inside her foot, which required surgery,” said Yenchit Phongphitak, the girl’s mother.
For the school children, teachers, and those fighting for their lives, none of them were prepared for violence. They had simply come to school.
“She sent a message in our family chat. The message that shocked us was: ‘I don’t want to die.’ Innocent people lost their lives without warning. How many tragedies will happen, until we find solutions?” said the mother.
Days later, another shooting happened just kilometers away. A gunman killed a Thai official at a local government office.
In Thailand, guns are not hard to find. The country has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in Southeast Asia, with over 10 million firearms in circulation, and that’s roughly one gun for every seven people. However, about 40 percent are believed to be illegal, feeding a clandestine market that operates beyond the reach of regulation and poses a serious challenge to public safety.
But many believe legislation is only part of the solution.
“Amending the paper doesn’t help anything if the government doesn’t enforce. Because right now the government pay only attention to legal guns and what about illegal guns, they don’t talk about it at all? That’s the reason why it will happen again,” said Praphrut Chatprapachai, an independent legal scholar.
Thailand tightens gun control after deadly school shooting
Hong Kong’s stock market ended lower Thursday with the benchmark Hang Seng Index down 0.17 percent to close at 25,396.51 points.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index shed 0.23 percent to 8,426.49 points, and the Hang Seng Tech Index gained 0.33 percent to 4,792.39 points.
Hong Kong stocks close lower Thursday
