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🇸🇬 Singapore /Culture & Society

Thai School Reopens Under Tight Security Three Weeks After Student Shooting Rampage

From The Straits Times · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire From a news agency Outcome reported
  • Debsirin Nonthaburi School reopened three weeks after a 14-year-old student killed seven people, including himself, in Thailand’s deadliest mass shooting in nearly four years.
  • Police and civil defence volunteers guarded the campus, while staff and students faced bag checks and received mental health support.
  • The shooting has renewed debate over gun control, and Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul suspended new firearm permits and ordered reviews of existing licences.

Students returned to Debsirin Nonthaburi School under police protection three weeks after a classmate killed seven people in a shooting rampage. Officers checked bags at the entrance, while civil defence volunteers in berets and camouflage stood around the grounds.

A screen displayed the names and images of those who died. White ribbons hung along the fence in their memory. The victims included one student and five staff members, as well as the gunman, who also killed his grandparents at their home before attacking the school.

On one hand, I feel confident the school will put strict and thorough safety measures in place. But I'm worried about my child's mental state and how she will feel going back to the building where the shooting happened.

— Thongbai MuenjitA parent described his confidence in the school’s security measures and concern about his daughter’s return.

Parents described mixed feelings about sending their children back. Thongbai Muenjit, whose 15-year-old daughter attends the school, said he trusted the new security measures but worried about her mental state in the building where the shooting occurred. Natchuda Petpuangpan, whose daughter is 12, said she supported the return, adding, "I don't think these kinds of incidents happen every day. It could have happened anywhere."

I don't think these kinds of incidents happen every day. It could have happened anywhere.

— Natchuda PetpuangpanA parent explained why she supported her daughter returning to class.

Health ministry mental health experts have visited the school staff since the attack. Student Adisorn Deesa, 15, said the school would provide psychological support and welcomed the chance to see friends again. He said online lessons had made it harder to understand the material.

The shooting has also intensified Thailand’s gun-control debate. Days afterward, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul suspended the issuance of firearm purchase permits and said existing licences would be reviewed. Thailand had an estimated 10.3 million civilian-held firearms in 2017, according to the Small Arms Survey. Another Bangkok school held an active-shooter drill last month.

With online classes, I couldn't understand the lessons as well as I do at school, and I think my friends are happy to be back too.

— Adisorn DeesaA 15-year-old student welcomed the reopening and the school’s mental health support.
About this summary

Originally published by The Straits Times in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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