Thailand’s deadly gun loop

Mourners at Wat Rat Samakee, a temple in Uthai Sawan, Thailand, on Oct 8, 2022, after a mass shooting. A rampage at a high school in Thailand on Aug 7 was the latest episode of gun violence in a country that has grappled with several attacks in recent years. — Andre Malerba/The New York Times

FOUR years ago, after a former police offi­cer shot or stabbed more than 30 people in northeastern Thailand – the deadliest mass killing by a single attacker in the country’s history – Anutin Charnvirakul, the country’s health minister, vowed tighter controls on guns.

Now the prime minister, Anutin found himself repeating that promise on Aug 7 after another mass shooting, this time at a high school just northwest of Bangkok, the capital.