Thai authorities considering beefing up school security after mass shooting

BANGKOK - Thailand’s Education Ministry will look into safety measures in schools after a mass shooting on Aug 7 left eight people, including the gunman, dead and 23 others injured, said Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.

However, there are no concrete plans at the moment, he said, adding that installing metal detectors in schools is “not normal”.

“But the Minister of Education has told me that he would need to do something to assure the parents of all students that we will have better safeguarding measures with respect to any children carrying guns into schools,” he told reporters after a visit to Debsirin Nonthaburi School, where the shooting occurred.

A 14-year-old boy allegedly killed seven people, including two teachers and three other school staff, before fatally shooting himself. The teen had allegedly used a registered gun belonging to his grandfather. The police said he killed his grandparents at their home, where he lived, before heading to school that morning.

At one of the hospitals where victims were receiving treatment, Education Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong told reporters that security measures at schools will be “significantly strengthened”.

Preliminary information indicates that the weapon may have been brought into the school inside a bag, he said, noting that schools had not previously conducted extensive searches of students’ belongings.

“The incident will therefore prompt a review of security procedures, particularly measures to prevent weapons and other dangerous items from being brought onto school premises,” Prasert said.

Schools will also more strictly control access by unauthorised individuals, he added.

Education district directors across the country are meeting on Aug 8 to discuss enhanced school security and measures to protect students.

Education Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong visiting a hospital where victims of a mass shooting incident in Thailand on Aug 7 were receiving treatment.

ST PHOTO: MAY WONG

Gunman was described as quiet and a victim of bullying

The teen was said to be a victim of bullying in school, and The Straits Times understands that he was locked in the toilet by some other students a day before the incident.

It is unclear if the teen was targeting anyone in particular when he opened fire at his schoolmates and teachers.

Surin Adam, a motorcycle taxi driver, told ST that he occasionally gave the student rides home from school on days that he was not taking a local songthaew, or public bus. He described the teen as quiet and reserved, adding that he rarely spoke during the rides.

Samang Chaisorn, the teenage gunman’s aunt, described the boy as quiet and reserved.

ST PHOTO: MAY WONG

Samang Chaisorn, the teen’s aunt, also described the teen as a quiet and reserved boy who mostly kept to himself and did not have many friends.

“He wasn’t particularly cheerful; he was just very quiet,” she told ST.

She said she heard about the shooting at 9am (10am Singapore time) and tried to call the teen’s grandfather to pick him up but could not reach him. She did not realise then that the boy was the alleged gunman.

“When I arrived at the house, it was locked, and we couldn’t get inside. The village headman noticed that the air conditioner was still running, so he brought a saw to cut through and get inside,” she said. “When we entered, we found that they had already died.”

Thai authorities at the alleged shooter’s grandparents’ house, where he shot them before heading to school on Aug 7.

ST PHOTO: MAY WONG

Pannatorn Temrak, the headman of Bangkurad subdistrict, where the grandparents lived, was one of the first people to enter their house after the incident.

“When we went inside, we found the grandfather’s body downstairs near the kitchen. He had been shot in the back of the head,” said Pannatorn, who knew the family personally.

“We found the grandmother upstairs in the bedroom. She was still under the blanket, as though she were asleep,” he said, adding that he believes she was also shot in the head.

Describing the grandparents as good people, Pannatorn said: “They had raised the boy who carried out the shooting since he was very young. They loved each other very much.”

Describing the grandparents as good people, Pannatorn Temrak said they loved their grandson very much and had raised him since he was a child.

ST PHOTO: MAY WONG

A 16-year-old student at the school, who did not want to be identified, said she thought at first that someone was firing a gun to scare away birds but became suspicious when there were repeated shots.

“We were in Building 4, and we heard that the shooting had started in Building 5. Everyone started shouting for us to find somewhere to hide. We crouched down and tried to stay as far away as possible,” she told ST.

“Then the gunshots became very close, and we heard that the shooter had come into our building,” she said, adding that the bullets appeared to have grazed two of her friends.

“One grazed my friend’s finger, so I gave my friend a cloth to press against the wound to reduce the bleeding,” she said.

“My friends were trying to hold the door shut and keep it locked, and it seemed like he was firing through an opening,” she recounted.

She added that she did not know the shooter and had never spoken to him.

Not about gun control or school safety, says Anutin

Anutin told reporters that the incident had nothing to do with gun control or school safety, as it was an act of a teenager under stress and pressure.

“This is violence, but it is not caused by criminals. It is caused by an individual who had carried a lot of pressures and tension,” he said.

“So he is not a street criminal, he’s not a robber, so this really has nothing to do with security measures in the school.”

Anutin added that carrying or the purchasing of guns is already restricted in Thailand and ordinary citizens are not allowed to carry weapons in public.

“He intentionally came to school today to commit this unfortunate case,” said Anutin.

“So we have to separate the case about possessing a gun for ordinary people, and comparing it with this case. It’s a totally separate issue.”

Asked if gun laws should be tightened, Anutin said a new law is in process but did not give any details.

“When I became prime minister, one of my to-do things was to issue a new law regarding weapons, and it is still in the process,” he said.

Thailand Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul (in white) and Minister of Education Prasert Jantararuangtong (left) inspect the site following a school shooting at Debsirin Nonthaburi School in Bang Kruai district, Nonthaburi province, Thailand on Aug 7.

PHOTO: EPA

Separately, Prasert said his ministry’s immediate priorities are the safety and mental well-being of those who are affected, and officials have been instructed to provide all possible assistance to them.

The school remains closed for now, with psychologists and counsellors standing by to provide mental and emotional support. Parents have been asked to make sure their children had returned home safely and to closely monitor their emotional condition.

Prasert added that the authorities are waiting for the results of the autopsies and forensic examination.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office said the government will offer compensation of 1 million baht (S$38,765) to the families of those who died.

Victims who acquired disabilities will be given 700,000 baht; those with serious injuries, 200,000 baht; and those with minor injuries, 100,000 baht.

Thailand has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in South-east Asia, and gun violence is not uncommon.

The deadliest mass shooting incident in recent history occurred in October 2022, when a former police sergeant killed 37 people at a childcare centre in Nong Bua Lamphu in northeastern Thailand before killing his family and himself.