Another School Shooting in Thailand

[PeterRS2]

Yet another one - but this time in Thailand. Two days ago at the Debsirin Nonthaburi School northwest of Bangkok a 14-year old took a gun belonging to his grandfather, allegedly shot both his grandparents and then took the handgun to school where he killed three teachers and two school officials before turning the gun on himself and committing suicide. Yesterday he claimed another victim when a 12-year old schoolgirl died. 14 remain in hospital of whom seven are in serious condition. Most of the wounded are children aged between 12 and 14.

Within hours of Friday’s shooting rampage, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul pledged to introduce a new firearms control law in the country.

Anutin, who previously tightened gun laws during his tenure as interior minister, said he would now propose a law to restrict the carrying of firearms by the public.

“The new law will only allow government officials on duty to carry guns,” he told reporters, without giving any further details.

Thailand has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in Asia, second only to Pakistan and far surpassing its Southeast Asian neighbours.

Thailand is estimated to have 10.3 million guns in private ownership, 40% of which are not registered.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/8/families-retrieve-bodies-after-deadly-shooting-rampage-outside-bangkok

The East Asia Forum website had a long article in December 2023 outlining why Thailand has so many guns in private ownership. 

It is believed that a large proportion of the guns in Thailand are from the so-called ‘gun welfare program’, which allows government officers, including retired police officers and state-owned enterprise staff, to buy personal guns at cheaper than the market rate. The Thai government initiated this program in 2009 and the latest round of ‘invitation to participate’ was circulated among ministries in April 2022. The official rationale of this program is to enable these officers ‘to perform one’s duty and to protect one’s own life and property’ . . . 

A significant portion of these illegal weapons are Thai-style homemade guns capable of firing .22 or .38 calibre bullets. This ‘local wisdom’ has been passed down through generations, predating the 1947 Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, Fireworks, and the Equivalent of Firearms Act. The ubiquity of these homemade guns — even on online platforms — after nearly a century of gun control, underscores the sustained demand for firearms in Thailand . . .

Thailand’s elevated gun ownership is likely rooted in the populace’s diminishing faith in law and order. Other factors such as toxic masculinity norms and high levels of tolerance for violence have also played significant roles.

https://eastasiaforum.org/2023/12/13/thailands-growing-gun-problem/

[bkkmfj2648]

@PeterRS2, I would be interested to hear your thoughts about bullyism in the Thai educational system and the mechanisms that are (or are not) available to remedy and/or diffuse said bullyism.

I have been intensely following this nightmare on Thai social media platforms via translated AI and it is quite interesting to hear how often the person being bullied often has no recourse where the situation is made to be silenced.      "Here no evil = see no evil".

So, perhaps in addition to implementing gun control it is time for the Thai educational system to truly implement a system where:

• bullyism is frowned upon,
• the victim(s) of bullyism can be made to feel safe to be able to confide in their teachers, where the teacher is taught how to handle the psychological needs of the child being bullied,
• creation of "safe spaces" within the schools where the bullied victims can go for safety,
• a mechanism where the person(s) doing the bullying are punished and/or re-educated.

Some of the Thai social media that I have read states that the current normal pathways for the victims of bullyism are to either:

1. confide with their parents (if they will be receptive and are willing to 'lose face' to take action against the school),
2. confide with a Monk at the temple (but I could not tell from Thai social media if the Monk would then go to the school to try to create positive change).

Consequently, since the current Thai educational system is very rigid - often the victims of bullyism turn to social media on their phones for help - thus sometimes resulting in the tragic event that just happened.

[PeterRS2]

I am sorry I cannot help because I know virtually nothing about schools in the Thai educational system. 

What I do know is that once kids get out of the main school system there are certain secondary vocational and technical colleges particularly in Bangkok where groups of students are virtually in open gang warfare with one another. Frequently the police do not want to get involved, even though students are sometimes killed. I find this quote from The Taipei Times shocking!

Two years ago, a gunbattle in broad daylight at a gas station, involving a motorbike chase, left one student dead and two other people wounded.

Au, a 19-year-old studying to be a car mechanic at Thonburi Technical College, was one of those who fought at the gas station.

“It’s not about politics. The fight is just to prove that we are better than them. It’s about dignity. We can’t stand their insults,” he said.

Prosecutors decided that Au and his friends acted in self-defense, so no case was brought against them. Police have little appetite for tackling violence among students.

https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2023/11/04/2003808682

I can also recall the case from 2018 when a student who was helping his mother at her roadside stall was shot and killed by a student from a rival college driving by on a motorbike. 

The 21-year old in this article below was killed with a gunshot to the head. He was a student at the Rajamangala University of Technology Tawan-ok Uthenthawai Campus. There students seem to have a particular rivalry with students at the Pathumwan Institute of Technology whiich is near the MBK Center.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/student-shot-dead-as-thailands-strange-trend-of-university-gang-violence-resurfaces/

This vdo of a brawl involving knives was between two sets of students at MBK Center last year.

With the police more or less having given up on trying to end this 50 year rivalry - yes, it has lasted that long - my only advice is run if you see groups of students seemingly on the warpath. What I have outlined goes way beyond bullying, but I suspect the Thai education system has to tolerate it if school leavers end up in gangs. 

[bkkmfj2648]

Hmm, then perhaps there is no hope because bullyism is also frequently practiced in the Thai military on new recruits, where the name used is = Hazing.

In my 4 years of living here, I often read of cases where a new recruit in the Thai military has died from such practices.

It is difficult for me to comprehend all of this violence in a supposedly peaceful society that follows Buddhist beliefs and practices.

😪 😪 😪 😪

[PeterRS2]

The 2025 Department of Health Service Report reported -

Reviewing statistics on school violence undermining the mental health of Thai youth in 2025, the Department of Health Service Support found that 65.54% of Thai youth have experienced bullying. The Consumer Council revealed survey results covering four dimensions of school violence.

The data is gained from relatively small groups - physical violence (337 respondents involving hitting, punching and kicking), verbal violence (335 respondents involving emotional abuse, gossip and sarcastic remarks, mockery of body shape or personality), social violence (337 respondents involving mocking and shaming in front of others, spreading rumours, exclusion from groups), cyberbullying (336 respondents involving posting insulting or derogatory messages, spreading rumours, exclusion from online groups).

Various sectors made the following six proposals to the Department of Education to promote Thai schools as a safe environment for all pupils - 

1. Establish accessible mental health care systems by allocating sufficient resources, training teachers to provide in-depth student support, and implementing monitoring systems for at-risk individuals.

2. Improve infrastructure safety by enhancing security measures in schools, such as secure restrooms, strict control of e-cigarettes and drugs, and prevention of unauthorized persons.

3. Address cyberbullying seriously by incorporating online rights and violence issues into curricula and training teachers to understand these problems.

4. Protect children's rights and create participatory spaces by providing safe complaint channels and enabling students and student councils to monitor and communicate issues.

5. Strengthen family roles in mental health care by educating parents on depression and risky behaviors to make homes safe environments.

6. Develop sex education and sexual harassment prevention by training teachers and students on bodily rights, sexual diversity, and establishing counseling centers in schools.

These proposals stem from collaboration among various sectors, emphasizing that creating safe schools is not the responsibility of any single party but requires joint effort to ensure children grow up effectively and safely.

https://en.thairath.co.th/scoop/infographic/2951346

If the Education Department is anything like some government departments of which I have direct experience, I fear little if anything will change! I also suspect the above is not dissimilar to many other societies, yet does not explain why violence is quite deeply rooted in parts of Thai society.