The Thai Government on Wednesday (August 12, 2026) pledged to tighten gun controls and crack down on illegal firearms after two deadly shootings near Bangkok in less than a week, renewed pressure on authorities to curb gun violence.

The country has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in Asia despite its fairly restrictive gun laws. The two recent shootings, both in Nonthaburi province, northwest of the capital Bangkok, have intensified calls for tougher enforcement and tighter controls on firearms.

A student opened fire at his high school and family home on Friday (August 7, 2026), killing at least eight people and injuring more than 20 before apparently taking his own life, according to police. Three days later, a former lawmaker was arrested after a shooting at a government office that killed one person and injured another.

Government spokesperson Lalida Persvivatana said Wednesday (August 12, 2026) that the government is working to strengthen gun regulations and crack down on illegal firearms, as well as raise awareness of the responsibilities of and limits on gun ownership.

The ultimate goal is “to find ways to remove guns from people’s daily lives as much as possible and make Thai society safer,” she said in a statement.

On Tuesday (August 11, 2026), Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul ordered an urgent review of gun regulations, including a suspension of new permits to purchase firearms and a review of existing permits, according to a statement from the Government House.

He also instructed the Interior Ministry to propose amendments to Thailand’s gun control laws within 60 days. The changes are expected to bolster the collection of firearms data, tighten controls on the gun trade and increase penalties for offenders.

Penalties for unlawful possession of firearms in Thailand include prison terms from 1 to 10 years and fines of up to 20,000 baht ($600). While the licensing laws are strict, critics say there are weaknesses in enforcement.

Thailand has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in Asia, second only to Pakistan and far surpassing its Southeast Asian neighbours.

Data collected in 2017 by the groups Small Arms Survey and GunPolicy.org found that Thai civilians owned about 15 guns per 100 people, compared with less than one per 100 people in neighbouring Malaysia.

Thailand had 3.49 deaths by firearms per 100,000 people, according to 2023 statistics published by World Population Review. That puts it well behind parts of Latin America and the Caribbean but relatively high in Asia. Only the Philippines is higher in Southeast Asia.

While mass shootings are still rare in Thailand, the country has seen an uptick in high-profile attacks in recent years.

Police arrested a former member of Thailand’s parliament on Monday (August 10, 2026) for allegedly shooting and wounding a local government official and his driver.

The alleged attack in Nonthaburi province north of Bangkok came days after a school shooting in the same region that raised questions over gun control in Thailand.

Former local MP Chalong Riewrang was arrested and taken to the police station, Nonthaburi police chief Dejrapee Kongdee told AFP.

“We are investigating him in regard to his motive. The two who were shot are being treated at a hospital,” he said.

One of them, the chairman of the Nonthaburi local government administration, was “seriously injured”, the police chief said.

The other was his driver, he said, without providing details of his condition.

Local media said a private dispute may have been the cause of the alleged shooting but the police chief declined to comment.

Mr. Chalong was formerly a member of Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s party.

On Friday, a 14-year-old boy shot dead the grandparents who raised him in Nonthaburi before killing six others at his school and then turning the gun on himself.

Thailand has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the region, with around 10 million firearms estimated to be in circulation — roughly one for every seven inhabitants.

Officials have promised stricter gun laws since Friday’s shooting, but previous pledges have failed to prevent repeated shootings.

​There ‌were fatalities at ​a ⁠school shooting in Thailand ‌north of the ‌capital ‌Bangkok, ⁠a ⁠Thai police official said on ​Friday (August 7, 2026).

Pasakorn ‌Chaitawiwong, the head of the ‌Plai ​Bang subdistrict police in ⁠Nonthaburi province, said ‌the number of deaths was not yet ‌known.

The police identified ‌the perpetrator as a student.

The incident ‌took ​place in the ⁠Bang Kruai district ‌of Nonthaburi province. There were no further ‌details provided.

A female teacher died on Thursday (February 12, 2026) in southern Thailand’s ​Hat Yai district after a gunman opened ‌fire at a school where ​she worked, the provincial administration ⁠said on social media.

A 17-year-old used a firearm stolen from a police officer ‌to shoot the teacher, identified as Sasiphat Sinsamosorn, at the Patongprathankiriwat School ‌in Songkhla Province’s Hat Yai district ‌on ⁠Wednesday (February 11, 2026) before being detained ⁠by police.

A female student was also shot. Information about her condition has not yet been ​released.

Sasiphat, who also ‌served as the school’s director, was taken to an intensive care unit for surgery but died at ‌around 2 a.m. due to internal organ ​injuries and significant blood loss, the Health Ministry said.

The school ⁠posted a message of condolence on its Facebook page, saying “although we have ‌lost you, the memories and the goodness you left behind will remain in our heart forever.”

Officials said the detained suspect, who has a sister at the school, has a ‌history of substance abuse and was discharged ​from a psychiatric hospital in December.

Gun violence and ownership are not ⁠uncommon in Thailand. In 2002, a former ⁠police officer killed 36 people, including 22 children, in a gun-and-knife ‌attack at a nursery in the east of the country.