Thailand Reports Second School Shooting in a Month as Southeast Asia Ramps Up Active-Shooter Drills

Thailand had a second school shooting scare in a month. A 14-year-old student fired several shots at a school in Kamphaeng Phet province, about 120 miles north of Bangkok, according to Newsday, which cited Thai media reports. The student was subdued before anyone was hit.

That incident came roughly a month after the deadliest mass shooting Thailand has seen in nearly four years. On Aug. 7, a 14-year-old shot his grandparents dead at their home in Nonthaburi province, then went to Debsirin Nonthaburi School and killed a student and five staff members before killing himself, according to Channel NewsAsia (CNA). Combined with the deaths at the family home, BBC and Newsday both reported the attack killed eight people and injured more than 20 others.

A School Reopens Under Guard

Debsirin Nonthaburi reopened on Sept. 1, three weeks after the shooting, with civil defense volunteers in camouflage posted around the grounds and students lining up for bag checks, some carrying belongings in clear plastic bags, CNA reported. A screen at the entrance displayed the names and photos of the dead. White ribbons were tied to the fence.

Parents were split on how to feel. Thongbai Muenjit, whose 15-year-old daughter attends the school, told CNA he trusted the new safety measures but worried about his daughter's mental state walking back into the building where the shooting happened. Another parent, Natchuda Petpuangpan, said she supported her 12-year-old daughter's return, arguing the attack "could have happened anywhere." Student Adisorn Deesa, 15, told CNA he was glad to be back with friends after struggling with online classes.

Mental health experts from Thailand's health ministry have been working with the school's staff since the shooting, according to CNA.

Drills Spread Across the Region

BBC correspondent Jonathan Head attended an active-shooter drill run by Thai police at a Bangkok high school, part of efforts to prepare students for a scenario nobody in the region planned for a generation ago. CNA reported that a Bangkok school held a similar drill the month before Nonthaburi reopened, with first responders guiding students at Sarawittaya School on how to react during a school shooting, including stacking desks and chairs in front of doors to block entry.

The Philippines ran its own exercise, a Nationwide Simultaneous School Safety Drill, in towns including San Rafael, according to Newsday. Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla called it part of a broader shift in mindset. "It's a new reality in the country," he said. "We are preparing for all kinds of emergencies, from human-induced to weather-induced (events). All of us should be ready." Department of Education Undersecretary Malcolm Garma said the goal was to make schools "number one in awareness" so students and staff know how to recognize threats and where to go. The drill included a 30-minute full-scale lockdown followed by a review with the Office of Civil Defense, the Bureau of Fire Protection, local disaster offices and the Philippine National Police, Newsday reported.

Two Countries, Two Gun Problems

Thailand and the Philippines have both had student-on-student shootings this year, but the underlying gun landscape differs. Thailand has the second-highest civilian gun ownership rate in Asia, with an estimated 10.3 million firearms in civilian hands as of a 2017 Small Arms Survey estimate cited by CNA. The Philippines, by contrast, has the highest rate of firearm deaths per capita in noncombat situations in the region, according to surveys cited by Newsday.

In the Philippines, two armed students killed three classmates and wounded at least 20 others at a central Philippines high school in June; two suspects, 14 and 15, were arrested, Newsday reported. On Aug. 18, a 14-year-old carrying two pistols shot a fellow student dead before killing himself at a southern Philippines high school.

Thailand's response has centered on gun licensing. Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul suspended the issuance of new firearm purchase permits days after the Nonthaburi attack and ordered a review of existing licenses, CNA reported.

The Nonthaburi shooter used a weapon tied to his own family, not a newly purchased one, and Thailand already has more than 10 million firearms in civilian hands that a permit freeze does nothing to remove. Whether suspending new permits meaningfully reduces risk, versus tightening enforcement or storage rules on guns already in circulation, remains unclear. The government has not yet answered this question in detail.

There's also an unresolved question closer to the ground: whether lockdown drills actually reduce trauma or compound it. Thongbai Muenjit's worry about his daughter's mental state echoes a debate playing out in the U.S. for two decades, and neither Thailand nor the Philippines has published data yet on how students are coping with the drills themselves.