The death toll from a school shooting in Thailand has risen to nine after police said a 12-year-old girl being treated for serious injuries had died in hospital.
A 14-year-old boy allegedly shot his grandparents and then killed five more people at his school, before turning the gun on himself in the incident in Nonthaburi, northwest of Bangkok, on Friday, officials said.
The suspected teenage gunman injured more than 30 people in the shooting at the Debsirin Nonthaburi school, with 14 victims still in hospital, seven of whom are in a critical condition, the province's public relations department said citing the ministry of public health.
Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Friday (7 August) he would propose new legislation to restrict the carrying of firearms by the public.
"The new law will only allow government officials on duty to carry guns," Anutin told reporters. He did not provide further details on the proposed legislation or say whether it would tighten gun ownership requirements.
Thailand has the highest rate of civilian gun ownership in Southeast Asia. According to a 2017 estimate by the Switzerland-based Small Arms Survey, civilians in Thailand possessed around 10.3 million firearms, equivalent to about 15 guns per 100 people.
The alleged teenage shooter on Friday fired 26 rounds, with an additional 34 rounds of ammunition later found at the scene.
A student at the school told Reuters they initially did not realise the sound was gunfire.
"I didn’t think it was a gun at first," the student said. "There were many shots: bang bang bang. Then it went quiet. Then it started again."
Mass shootings have occurred regularly in Thailand in recent years, including attacks at schools, a major Bangkok shopping mall and a 2022 killing spree in the country's northeast that left 36 people dead, including 22 children.
Thailand's licensing system requires separate permits for owning and carrying firearms. However, experts say it still lacks mandatory mental health screening for gun ownership applicants and does not require periodic reassessment of licence holders.
Read more
A fire broke out at a warehouse used by Russian retailer Ozon in Rostov, southern Russia, overnight following a drone strike the firm sai...
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces have redirected 82 commercial vessels as part of efforts to enfo...
Vast flocks of storks passed through Türkiye and the Bosporus this week as part of their annual autumn mig...
Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has dismissed media reports that CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Moscow earlier this week to warn Russia against attacking NATO, dismissing them as "scare stories," which had nothing to do with reality.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has called for greater economic cooperation among Muslim countries, saying their combined economic weight remains disproportionately small compared with their population, strategic location and resources.
Iran is setting conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, including an end to the war, the lifting of the U.S. blockade and sanctions. At the same time, Washington is stepping up economic pressure on Tehran through what the White House calls “Operation Economic Outcast.”
Mail sorting centres used by Nova Poshta, Ukraine's largest private postal company, were destroyed in Russian strikes overnight, the firm said. Elsewhere, four people were injured after drones struck an apartment building in Sevastopol, Crimea, according to the Moscow-installed governor.
The Israeli-U.S. invasion of Iran, which began on 28 February, entered its seventh month on Friday, as Tehran wrapped up a week of high-level visits the region, with officials from Pakistan, Oman and Qatar helping to negotiate a way out of the current stalemate in the conflict.
A fire broke out at a warehouse used by Russian retailer Ozon in Rostov, southern Russia, overnight following a drone strike the firm said. Rostov's Governor, Yury Slyusar, said seven people were injured across the region in Ukrainian attacks.
Greenland’s opposition parties have called for Denmark to be held accountable before the International Court of Justice over a decades-long campaign in which women and girls were fitted with contraceptive devices, often without their consent.
Icelanders will vote on Saturday, 29 August, on whether to resume negotiations with the European Union, in a referendum that could reopen the country’s long-debated membership question.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called for greater unity across the Islamic world, saying Türkiye is seeking to strengthen alliances and reduce divisions amid growing instability in the region.
Iran is setting conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, including an end to the war, the lifting of the U.S. blockade and sanctions. At the same time, Washington is stepping up economic pressure on Tehran through what the White House calls “Operation Economic Outcast.”
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment