Fourteen year old boy opens fire in Thailand’s mall

A 14-year-old boy opened fire in one of Thailand’s luxury malls in Bangkok this Tuesday, killing three people and injuring at least seven. This has been recorded as the 2^nd worst mass shooting in Thailand’s history, sparking debate about whether gun laws should be stricter. The shooting started around 4:30 p.m. at the Siam Paragon Mall and the suspect was arrested within an hour.  It has been reported that the motive for this shooting is unknown, and that the suspect had just recently turned 14 this September.

Thankfully, no children were injured; however. several foreigners and citizens, including a Chinese citizen fell victim to the shooting. Mass shootings are rare in Thailand, in Asia overall, where gun laws are strict. It remains unclear as to how a 14-year-old could come into possession of a firearm.

On social media, witnesses have uploaded videos of people screaming as gunshots were heard from the bathroom in the mall and videos across the street from the mall, with citizens feeling as far as possible from the mall.

Last year, around the same time as this shooting, a mass killing occurred by a former police officer went on a rampage in a daycare murdering 36 people, 24 of them children.

This recent incident ranks first as Thailand’s deadliest shooting in the country’ history. A video of the 14-year-old being arrested by police surfaced on social media, showing the teenager; wearing a cap with an American flag on it, a black polo, shorts, and glasses.

In the video, the teenager seems to be hallucinating, not in the right mind. Officials still have yet to examine the teenager and uncover the cause.