Details of the shooting at a Thai school and the death of the perpetrator
Thai security authorities announced on Wednesday that they had neutralized a gunman who attacked a school in the south of the country, in a new incident added to the record of armed violence that the kingdom has witnessed recently, resulting in injuries to a woman and two children.
Details of the attack in Hat Yai
According to details released by the Thai Central Bureau of Investigation, police officers shot and killed the suspect at the scene in Hat Yai shortly after he entered the grounds of Phatong Pratan Khairwat School. The Songkhla provincial government reported that the attacker appeared to be mentally disturbed and was armed with a firearm; two or three shots were heard, causing panic at the scene.
The Ministry of Public Health confirmed in an official statement that a woman and a 14-year-old girl were taken to the hospital for treatment after being shot, where they underwent urgent surgical interventions, while another child was injured in the ankle as a result of falling while trying to escape from the danger site.
Thailand has a bloody record of violent incidents
This incident brings to mind a series of tragedies that have shaken Thai society in recent years, raising serious questions about safety measures and gun laws. In October 2023, Bangkok witnessed a horrific incident when a 14-year-old boy opened fire inside the popular Siam Paragon shopping mall, killing two people and injuring others. It was later revealed that the boy suffered from mental health issues.
A year earlier, in one of the worst mass killings in the country’s modern history, a former policeman who had been dismissed from service stormed a children’s nursery in Nong Bua Lamphu province in the northeast of the country, armed with a pistol and a knife, and committed a massacre that claimed the lives of 36 people, including 24 children, before killing his family and committing suicide.
Challenges of the proliferation of weapons
Thailand faces a significant security challenge due to its high rate of gun ownership, ranking among the highest in Southeast Asia. Unofficial estimates suggest there are approximately 10 million firearms in circulation, roughly one for every seven citizens, with a large proportion of these weapons unlicensed. Despite repeated government pledges to tighten laws and close loopholes after each tragedy, the recurring nature of these incidents underscores the urgent need for more stringent and effective measures to curb gun violence and protect educational and public institutions.
