Archive · 11 Aug 2026
Thai PM Suspends Firearm Purchase Licences After Deadly School Shooting
In Thailand, people need a special paper called a licence to buy a gun.
Recently, a teenager took a gun to his school and did something very sad, hurting and killing several people.
After that, the leader of Thailand, Anutin Charnvirakul, decided to stop giving out new licences for a while.
He also wants to check again the licences that were already given.
The leader said people must keep their guns at home and cannot carry them outside.
He is working on a new law that makes gun rules stronger and punishments tougher.
The government is also thinking about a rule that would make people give back guns they have without permission.
There are a lot of guns in Thailand, about 10.3 million, more than in any nearby country.
The education leader wants schools to check everyone who enters, to look for weapons and keep children safe.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul suspended the issuance of firearm purchase permits and ordered a review of existing licences.
The move comes days after a 14-year-old gunman killed nine people at a school outside Bangkok, Thailand's worst mass killing in nearly four years.
Police were ordered to stop renewing permits that enable people to buy firearms, and a new gun control law with stronger controls and harsher penalties is being expedited.
Registered firearms must be kept at home and cannot be carried in public; legislation is being studied to require illegal firearms to be returned to the state.
Thailand has an estimated 10.3 million civilian firearms, about 15 per 100 residents, the highest rate in the region, according to the Small Arms Survey.
- Who
- Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and his government, responding to a shooting by a 14-year-old student.
- What
- Suspension of firearm purchase licence issuance, a review of existing licences, and plans for a stricter gun control law.
- When
- Tuesday, Aug 11, days after last week's shooting.
- Where
- Thailand; the shooting occurred at a school outside Bangkok.
- Why
- In response to a mass shooting in which a 14-year-old gunman killed nine people, the worst mass killing in the country in nearly four years.
- Action taken
- Suspension of firearm purchase licence issuance and review of existing licences
- Shooting casualties
- Nine people killed by a 14-year-old gunman
- Shooting location
- A school outside Bangkok, Thailand
- New gun law
- Being expedited with stronger controls and significantly harsher penalties
- Civilian firearms
- About 10.3 million, roughly 15 per 100 residents, highest in the region (2017 estimate)
- School safety
- Education minister proposed screening everyone entering education premises
- Illegal firearms
- Studies underway for legislation requiring their return to the state within a specified period