Another Shooting Incident in Thailand: 15-Year-Old Boy Kills 14-Year-Old

Student from the Same School Shot and Killed... Motive for the Crime Not Revealed

Illegal firearms seized in Thailand. [Image source = Yonhap News]

A teenage boy in Thailand shot and killed a fellow student from the same school.

Thailand is a country where gun ownership is permitted, and legally owning a firearm and obtaining a permit allows carrying guns in public places for self-defense.

According to local media including the Bangkok Post, at around 7:30 PM on the 19th, a 15-year-old boy shot a 14-year-old boy in front of a house in the Pak Khat area of Bueng Kan Province in northeastern Thailand.

The 14-year-old boy was shot in the back of the head and died. The perpetrator was two grades above the victim at the same school. Police arrested the 15-year-old boy and confiscated a homemade pen-shaped gun as evidence. The suspect was charged with murder, but the specific motive for the crime has not been disclosed.

According to the gun monitoring group GunPolicy, as of 2017, the number of firearms owned by civilians in Thailand reached approximately 10.34 million. Among these, about 6.22 million are registered firearms, while over 4.12 million are estimated to be unregistered.

Amid a series of recent shooting incidents, the age of perpetrators involved in gun crimes is decreasing. In October last year, a 14-year-old boy opened fire at Siam Paragon, a luxury shopping mall in Bangkok, killing three people including Chinese tourists and seriously injuring four others. The boy, known to have a mental illness, was released in January. According to current Thai law, offenders under the age of 15 are not subject to punishment and can be released.