Authorities in Thailand are proposing stricter controls on firearms after two people were killed last week during a mass shooting in Bangkok.
A 14-year-old boy shot and killed two people in Siam Paragon, one of Bangkok's most popular shopping and leisure centers, before being detained by police officers.
The alleged shooter, who police said had suffered a psychological breakdown, was charged with premeditated murder, illegal possession of a firearm, and other charges.
Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin vowed to take "preventive measures" after the shooting.
Examining Thailand's firearm laws
The teenage suspect had been undergoing treatment for mental illness but had stopped taking his medication and reported hearing voices telling him to shoot people, according to investigators.
Authorities said the boy used a blank-firing pistol modified to shoot live rounds.
Thai law prohibits people from openly carrying imitation guns in public, but replica weapons are not considered firearms, so possession is legal. Blank guns and BB air guns are widely available in markets and malls across Thailand, as well as online.
The shooting suggests that Thailand's firearm laws need strengthening, said Krisanaphong Poothakool, an associate professor with the criminology and justice administration program at Bangkok's Rangsit University.
"The gun law should include BB guns or blank guns," Krisanaphong told DW, adding that people with mental health issues should be psychologically evaluated as part of the firearm application process.
Immediate short-term changes to laws
Following last week's shopping mall shooting, Thailand's national police chief, Torsak Sukwimon, said that authorities are now trying to outlaw blank guns.
Thailand's interior minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, announced several short-term measures to counter gun violence, including the suspension of firearm license registrations for import and trade purposes, and applications to carry firearms in public.
No new gun shops will be allowed to open, and customs checks for blank weapons and imitation firearms will be increased. Shooting ranges will also require attendees under 20 years old to obtain permission from authorities.
Would-be firearm owners applying for gun licenses must currently provide legitimate reasons for wanting to own weapons, such as for hunting or to add to a collection.
Austin said that in the long term, buyers will need to produce a medical certificate proving that they are mentally fit to own a gun.
Questions still remain about Thailand's gun culture as the Siam Paragon attack was the third mass shooting in as many years.
Previous shootings in Thailand
In 2020, a Royal Thai Army soldier shot and killed 29 people and injured 58 others in the northeastern Thai city of Nakhon Ratchasima before being shot and killed by authorities.
Last October, a former Thai police officer opened fire at a daycare center and on the streets of Nong Bua Lam Phu in the north of the country, killing 36 people, 24 of them children.
The attack highlighted Thailand's welfare gun scheme, which allows state workers, including soldiers, officers, and government officials, to buy firearms at heavily discounted rates.
Thailand's previous government had plans to freeze the program and issue an amnesty for illegally held firearms.
"Unfortunately, the parliament was dissolved before the amnesty law was approved," said Krishanapong, who urged Thailand's new government to have a long-term policy for gun control.
"Governments should amend the gun law and should have clear requests under process for all applicants who apply for having a gun license," Krishanapong said. "It needs to be a very, very important reason to why you need to have a gun."
Thailand has one of the highest civilian gun ownership rates in Asia, with more than 10 million firearms held by civilians. Of those, around 4 million are illegally held.
