Thailand suspends firearms licences after deadly school shooting

Thailand has suspended firearms licences after the deadly Nonthaburi school shooting, as the bodies of the teenage attacker and the grandparents he killed were cremated.

The prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, said he had ordered the interior ministry and police to stop issuing licences to possess, purchase and carry firearms, and called for “tighter controls and decisive penalties”. The measures are temporary until a new gun control law is in place, according to government operated news-channel NBT World.

Anutin had vowed to implement changes on Friday when earlier that morning a 14-year-old boy shot dead the grandparents who raised him at their home in Nonthaburi, north of Bangkok, before killing six others at his school and then turning the gun on himself.

Anutin had aimed for reforms in previous roles as minister for the interior and health after gun violence in 2022 and 2023. In 2023, a shooting saw a boy of the same age kill two people at a shopping mall using a modified pistol intended to fire blanks that police said was likely ordered online. Anutin ordered a raft of gun control measures, including a short-term ban on new licences, import restrictions and the banning of people under 20 years old from shooting ranges.

However, past promises of tightening gun laws have not prevented recent shootings.

While Thailand’s licensing laws appear tough on paper, the reality is the country has millions of unregistered guns.

The most recent data from the Switzerland-based Small Arms Survey in 2017 showed that with over 10m civilian-owned firearms, Thailand had the highest number in south-east Asia – a rate more than one gun for every seven people – and over 4m were unregistered.

The government plans to establish a designated period for people to surrender illegal firearms or inherited weapons that cannot be legally transferred, during which they may be exempt from penalties, according to government operated news-channel NBT World.

Commissioner General Kitrat Phanphet of the Royal Thai police has also ordered tighter oversight of government-issued police firearms.

The widely criticised “welfare gun” scheme allows eligible public officials to obtain weapons at steep discounts, but the Bangkok Post reports many of these guns end up being resold.

Deputy Commissioner General Thana Chuwong will be responsible for targeting illegal weapons possession and trafficking, including illegal weapons sales through social media and other online platforms.

A new school safety plan has also been introduced by the ministry of education, including stricter entry screening with guards to check for weapons before anyone enters school premises, and increased mental health counselling.

The reforms were foreshadowed as multi-day Buddhist funerals for the victims continued to take place.

The white caskets of the first victims, the shooter’s grandparents, were laid out at the Tem Rak Samakkhi Buddhist temple on Tuesday, alongside their portraits, ahead of their cremation capping a funeral lasting several days.

The boy’s smaller casket was placed to the side at the same temple, surrounded by white flowers.

Among the mourners was Tawee Piewphong, who paid tribute to his brother-in-law – the grandfather – as “a man of few words, but a very kind person”.

Tawee expressed shock at the killings, saying he had no idea what motivated the teenager, but also offered compassion. “I want to tell him that being 14 is just a small fraction of your entire life, and every problem has a solution. Not everything is the end of the world,” the 70-year-old said.

Investigators were still seeking a motive for the shooting, but police said on Sunday that the boy had watched violent videos online and once brought an air gun to school. Officials said previously that he faced academic-related stress, and a classmate said he was bullied.

“Of course I feel bad for the innocent people who were killed,” said Somjai Poosod, whose grandchildren attend the school attacked. “But I feel there is an issue of mental health that we may need to address to prevent incidents like this from happening again.”

The shooting has resonated across the country, with the king and Anutin leading an outpouring of grief.

On Monday, the attacker’s father told the Guardian he still did not understand why his son did it, but was left to reckon with the violence his own flesh and blood had committed. “I’m experiencing so many emotions all at once. I feel guilty and heartbroken because I’ve suffered a loss too. I’ve lost my child, as well as my parents.”

The shooter used his grandfather’s gun to kill his grandparents before heading to the school.

There, he shot dead five teachers and staff and wounded a 12-year-old girl who died in hospital on Saturday.