NONG BUA LAMPHU, Thailand - The mass killing of 22 children in a childcare centre in north-eastern Thailand by a former police officer armed with a knife and a gun has turned attention to the issues of gun violence and gun ownership laws.
The gun wielded by 34-year-old Panya Kamrab had been legally purchased, said police.
Nonetheless, possession of the 9mm pistol by an individual who reportedly abused drugs, was prone to emotional outbursts and was violent has raised questions about gun ownership and regulations.
Several voices, including an online petition, have asked for an urgent review of the firearms policy covering current and former police officers.
National police chief Damrongsak Kittiprapas on Friday said plans to tighten these controls will be discussed with the Ministry of Interior and other organisations.
Thai citizens can own guns legally, according to strict gun laws that require one to have a licence. They also have to undergo background checks, and former convicts, drug abusers, disabled persons, mentally unsound individuals and minors are ruled out.
Thailand had more than 10.3 million privately owned firearms in 2017, according to a survey by gunpolicy.org at the University of Sydney, with only six million officially registered.
Police General Damrongsak said Panya - who killed himself after shooting his wife and child too - did not have a drug abuse record when he applied to the force. He was suspended in January and sacked in June for drug use.
Legal guns are also expensive, costing from 30,000 baht (S$1,144) to 100,000 baht for options ranging from rifles to pistols.
The Ministry of Interior, however, has a gun welfare programme where state agencies, such as the Royal Thai Police, can import guns for employees at a lower price - about 40,000 baht for a handgun, reported Thai PBS World.
This programme has been around for more than a decade, and was introduced to help officials pursue self-protection. However, a number of these weapons have also been seized in illegal gun trafficking hauls, according to past media reports.
There is a thriving black market for illegal firearms, and the authorities frequently seize hundreds of these weapons that are smuggled into the country and sometimes redistributed in the region.
In a raid in July 2022, the police seized 2,300 modified guns and thousands of bullets in Bangkok. These were targeted to be sold online, where such items are reportedly cheaper and buyers need not go through extensive background checks.
Thursday's mass shooting that left 37 people dead, including the shooter, is the most fatal in recent Thai history. A total of 24 children died, of whom 22 were at the childcare centre.
Gun incidents are, however, not uncommon in Thailand.
In 2019, there were 31,419 gun-related crimes, according to the Royal Thai Police. Of these incidents, the bulk - at around 24,000 - involved unregistered firearms, reported The Nation.
A day after the killing rampage in Nong Bua Lamphu, local media reported another incident involving an armed assailant, in the province of Nakhon Si Thammarat.
Carrying a pistol and a rifle, a 34-year-old man who was believed to be high on drugs tried to enter a school where his son was.
Police stopped him before he was able to hurt anyone, and the authorities have called it a "copycat" incident.
The Oct 6 killings are a "senseless tragedy", said deputy chief of the Uthai Sawan local authority Chuanpit Keawthong, adding that guns were never an issue for the usually quiet and peaceful town.
"Now that the (the gunman) is dead, who will take responsibility for all the lives lost?" she said.
