Mass killing in Thailand leaves 36 dead, including 22 children.

 

Two women comfort each other at the scene of the attack. NBC News/AP.

A mass killing in Thailand leaves 36 people dead including 22 children, in the worst attack of its kind in the history of the country. NBC News. The attacker was a former police officer that had just been in court hours earlier for drug charges. He attacked a child care facility, killing many children as well as a pregnant teacher, and then continued his massacre, killing random people on his way home. Once their he killed his wife, child and himself. At least 12 people were wounded in the attack as well. The suspect used firearms in his attack, despite Thailand's strict gun control rules. No motive has been released for the incident, though the suspect has been identified. 

My Comment:

Horrific mass attack in Thailand, and a very disgusting one. This attacker killed an absurd number of children and then decided to not only kill a bunch of pedestrians, but his own wife and child as well. It's a noteworthy attack and despite the fact that I fear media coverage encourages mass killings, I think I have to talk about it. 

I usually don't speculate on motive but in this case it seems pretty obvious. The attacker was angry that the drug case that had gotten him fired was not going well so he decided to take it out on the innocent. He screwed his life up so other people had to suffer, including the most innocent. And then he went family destroyer route and killed his wife and child as well. All over a drug case. I guess it's possible that some other motivation inspired him to do this attack, but I doubt it. 

I am not impressed by the police response to this attack. The most important factor in how many casualties a mass shooting like this has is how long it takes for an armed response. In this case there was none and the attacker stopped because he wanted to kill himself. Though the children who were in the child care center were likely always doomed, I think the lives of the wife and child, along with the random pedestrians, could have been saved if police had shown up quicker. 

This also goes to show that it isn't just America that has a problem with mass killings. Indeed, Thailand has had several mass shootings besides this one, including one just two years ago that ended with 29 people dead. Mass killings are an international problem and attempts to frame it as an American only problem are misleading at best and enemy action at worst. And I have to say that some of these attacks are even more gruesome and horrible than the worst school shootings in America. This one certainly qualifies. 

I again have to point out that Thailand has strict gun control laws. Not as strict as some Asian countries and complicated by the higher rate of gun ownership, but certainly stricter than the United States. Thailand requires licenses for gun ownership and licenses are provided on a may issue basis. In short, their gun laws are dramatically stricter than the United States. But the country has a fairly high gun ownership rate and more than 4 million illegal guns (along with 6 million legal ones). It just goes to show that even strict laws don't prevent high gun ownership and occasional mass shootings.