PUBLISHED : 13 Nov 2023 at 16:39
Interior minister Anutin Charnvirakul said he is pondering prohibiting civilians from carrying a gun in public, and has consulted the Department of Provincial Administration (DPA) about amending the law to this effect.
His comment follows three recent fatal shootings in Bangkok, the latest early on Monday morning.
Mr Anutin, also a deputy prime minister, was speaking on Monday during a visit to the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation.
He said he had consulted the DPA director-general about amending gun laws to impose stricter controls and prohibit people other than authorised officials from carrying a gun in public.
Currently, people who legally own a gun can carry it in public for self defence if they get the necessary permit.
On Saturday, shots were fired when two rival student gangs clashed in front of Sacred Heart Convent School in Bangkok’s Klong Toey area. A teacher at a nearby bank ATM was killed by a sray bullet.
And early on Monday, about 2am, there was another shooting involving rival youth gangs near the mouth of Soi Pattanakarn 53 on the frontage road of the Bangkok-Chon Buri motorway in Suan Luang district.
A 15-year-old Mathayom 5 student was hit and killed. Police found six spent bullet cases scattered on the road.
The issuing of permits for importing and trading in firearms, real and replica, was suspended following the Oct 3 shooting at a Bangkok shopping mall, where a 14-year-old boy using a modified gun intended to fire blank ammunition fatally shot three people and wounded five others.