Police chief confirms 2 dead with reports of at least one more fatality in Bangkok mass shooting

[kingstonkid]

2 hours ago, ChipButty said:

apparently, he has not been taking the medication he was given, 

not that uncommon in patients   I am a diabetic and unless the GF hounds me, there are days that I forget.  when you are having mental difficulties, it is even worse the voices tell you you don't need them

 

Look at the homel;ess in contries and thenumber that hve mental issues and do not take the proper meds if any at alll.

[kimamey]

7 hours ago, spermwhale said:

Thailand already has strict gun control laws. It's not easy to buy one legally. However there are many illegal guns floating around. It's not hard to find one. 

I don't know how strict the gun laws are in Thailand, but what I do know is that Thais see laws as something to ignore. Unless gun laws are an outlier in regards to compliance I wouldn't take much notice of them.

That the gun was illegal in someway seems a possibility, but i could also have belonged to someone else, such as a relative. What are the rules, if any, regarding weapons storage? If there are were they in place. If the gun did belong to a relative, and there are regulations around safe storage then that might well be a weak point.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

4 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

Now is the best time to go.

Security levels will be high until complacency sets in say in six months or more.

I was at Paragon a week or so back. I entered from the main entrance coming in from the BTS Siam station platform.

 

As best as I recall, there was NO monitored security screening or checking of any kind as members of the public streamed thru the doors.

 

[Trip Hop]

49 minutes ago, Smokey and the Bandit said:

Not arguing with you at all, but my point is still valid, any criminal can get a gun in the UK

Nope, not any criminal.  In fact it was far easier years ago.  Believe it or not, a lot of criminals shy away from them due to the increases in the sentencing just for possession and hence most probably the reduction in incidents over the last decade or so as stated by johnnybangkok?  Back in the 70s/80s, sawn off shotguns were common place but you rarely see them these days.

[Bangkok Barry]

My wife says it's ok not to check everyone and their bag as they enter Siam Paragon because there are so many people, and they can't afford to have security at every entrance, and it was only a small gun anyway. She has two uni degrees but still has the logic of a four year old. One of those times I have to count to 100. Of course, if she was one of those shot she might have a different opinion.

[pacovl46]

2 hours ago, retarius said:

If there are two dead and one more fatality, doesn't that mean that there are 3 dead?

Why doesn't the police chief and the headline say "Police chief says 3 dead....". Not only would this be less words, but would be a snappier headline. A friend pointed this out to me.

The keyword is with "reports" of one more fatality, which turned out to be not true, as it seems. 

[ourmanflint]

If he's been smoking pot, then that is the end of the pot business in Thailand

[impulse]

30 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

My wife says it's ok not to check everyone and their bag as they enter Siam Paragon because there are so many people, and they can't afford to have security at every entrance, and it was only a small gun anyway. She has two uni degrees but still has the logic of a four year old. One of those times I have to count to 100. Of course, if she was one of those shot she might have a different opinion.

Would you wait in a 20 minute queue to get into a shopping mall?  Because that's probably a minimal estimate of what it would take to search bags at every entrance.   Imagine airport style security just to get into a shopping mall, especially in Thailand where multiple stops in one shopping trip have people carting bags and bags into and out of each mall. (Compared to the USA where everyone dumps their goodies into their car between stops).

 

As I recall, they tried that after the temple bombing in that same area.  It didn't go well, or last very long.

 

[PETERTHEEATER]

7 hours ago, sikishrory said:

It's not hard at all. There's a whole scene on Twitter with lots of pages selling guns and pen pistols very openly and very cheap.

Most of my staff had guns when I used to work in phuket.

They were cooks.

So it wasn't just the food which blew tourists away.

[PETERTHEEATER]

4 hours ago, Siamic said:

Psychiatric treatment? What is the name of any medication he was taking? 

Ya ba seems likely.

[PETERTHEEATER]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

.........and expressed that such an incident should not have happened.

Unbelievable! Did he really say this or have his words been mis-reported.

[goldenbrwn1]

4 hours ago, Smokey and the Bandit said:

On the contrary, its common sense. Look at the UK where officially nobody can own a handgun, except the police, but gun crime happens, plus look at knife crime in London alone!

Them stabbing each other mostly , the UK is not renowned for mass public random stabbings unless Allah told em to do it.

[PETERTHEEATER]

1 hour ago, kimamey said:

I don't know how strict the gun laws are in Thailand, but what I do know is that Thais see laws as something to ignore. Unless gun laws are an outlier in regards to compliance I wouldn't take much notice of them.

That the gun was illegal in someway seems a possibility, but i could also have belonged to someone else, such as a relative. What are the rules, if any, regarding weapons storage? If there are were they in place. If the gun did belong to a relative, and there are regulations around safe storage then that might well be a weak point.

The national police chief is reported as saying the 'gun' was a modified BB pistol which I do not believe. I'm not saying he is lying but that there are translation issues.

[suestra29]

I trust there will be a full enquiry on who released the photos of the dead lady and man. 

[brianthainess]

2 hours ago, impulse said:

Japan vs USA...  Is it the culture that keeps the murder rate low or the laws?

 

Example, my neighborhood in Texas probably has as many guns per household as any in the USA.  Yet no shootings in over 30 years, if ever.  A neighborhood across town that, due to economics, has a much lower rate of gun ownership has shootings every week or so. 

 

So it's not the prevalence of guns, it's the culture.

 

Your neighborhood maybe but Texas?

[impulse]

5 minutes ago, brianthainess said:

Your neighborhood maybe but Texas?

True.  Texas has some Dem enclaves.  Like Houston and Austin.  Pretty much shooting galleries, though Austin wasn't like that when I was in college nearby. 

 

A good friend of mine ran for city council where I live, as a Democrat.  We congratulated her for doing better than any Democrat in recent memory when she scored 4% of the vote.

 

I still contend it's not the number of guns.  It's the culture that causes gun violence.

 

[brianthainess]

19 minutes ago, impulse said:

True.  Texas has some Dem enclaves.  Like Houston and Austin.  Pretty much shooting galleries, though Austin wasn't like that when I was in college nearby. 

 

A good friend of mine ran for city council where I live, as a Democrat.  We congratulated her for doing better than any Democrat in recent memory when she scored 4% of the vote.

 

I still contend it's not the number of guns.  It's the culture that causes gun violence.

 

Agree a gun culture like the states has,. 

[Purdey]

I find it interesting that the boy was captured alive. In another country, he would have been blown away by police with 60 bullets. Sad for the boy's parents, but why give a mentally disturbed kid access to guns?

[kiwikeith]

9 hours ago, AdamRich said:

I think that was the point. Laws only hinder law abiding people. Criminals are going to break the law regardless. Most places have laws not to kill, but people still do it. The only difference is the manner in which they choose to do it. Outlaw guns and those intent to kill will use knives, hammers, cars, or whatever else they can get their hands on.

He thought he was being stalked, 14 years old, paranoid?

Maybe he was stoned out of his head, what gun law prevents this, prey tell. Kids are now out of control smoking gunga in schools, including private schools, my son told me, they are smoking at 9 years old, in the toilets. 

Thailand is now a cot case for children, what hope do they have if they can ruin there lives smoking dopey Anutins drugs as young as 7.

More mass shootings on the way, and car and bike accidents, robberies, and a future generation of dumbed down potheads. 

[Bangkok Barry]

2 hours ago, impulse said:

Would you wait in a 20 minute queue to get into a shopping mall?  Because that's probably a minimal estimate of what it would take to search bags at every entrance.   Imagine airport style security just to get into a shopping mall, especially in Thailand where multiple stops in one shopping trip have people carting bags and bags into and out of each mall. (Compared to the USA where everyone dumps their goodies into their car between stops).

 

As I recall, they tried that after the temple bombing in that same area.  It didn't go well, or last very long.

 

So it's okay to wait 20 minutes in an airport security queue before embarking on an arduous 12-24 journey, but not before popping into a mall to do a bit of shopping?

[goldenbrwn1]

Imagine if he was a stoner….especially at this time with the legality of weed under the microscope…

[johnnybangkok]

4 hours ago, Trip Hop said:

Nope, not any criminal.  In fact it was far easier years ago.  Believe it or not, a lot of criminals shy away from them due to the increases in the sentencing just for possession and hence most probably the reduction in incidents over the last decade or so as stated by johnnybangkok?  Back in the 70s/80s, sawn off shotguns were common place but you rarely see them these days.

Another factor to consider is the cost. Black market guns in the UK are at least twice but more likely 3 or 4 times the cost of the same gun in America. Now I'm sure your average hardened criminal isn't too bothered about the cost but it could be a factor if you happen to be a fledgling criminal, new to the scene. Much cheaper to just get a knife, hence why we see so much knife crime in the UK.  

[kennw]

8 hours ago, Smokey and the Bandit said:

On the contrary, its common sense. Look at the UK where officially nobody can own a handgun, except the police, but gun crime happens, plus look at knife crime in London alone!

Look at the stats, the US leads the developed world in gun related deaths per capita, by a long long way.

[fredwiggy]

8 minutes ago, kennw said:

Look at the stats, the US leads the developed world in gun related deaths per capita, by a long long way.

Actually Thailand is very high per capita. Thailand is number 47, the US number 32. Central and South American countries are the highest.https://wisevoter.com/country-rankings/gun-deaths-by-country/

[mithunonthenet]

17 hours ago, ukrules said:

We know that, but I have a feeling the Chinese press won't be quite so 'restrained' in their reporting. I guess we'll find out in the next day or two.

Yup, Chinese state media got enough material to fuel their propaganda on Western social media sites they operate on under different pages.

1) Chinese victim.
2) Shooter was wearing a cap with the USA flag on it!

CCP struck propaganda gold!

[sqwakvfr]

15 hours ago, PETERTHEEATER said:

The national police chief is reported as saying the 'gun' was a modified BB pistol which I do not believe. I'm not saying he is lying but that there are translation issues.

This is a 9mm blank round.  The brass casing is the same as an actual round.  The only thing missing is the actual projectile that impacts the target(like a human body).  I have over 35 years of experience with small arms and I do not know what the Chief is talking about.  The grainy image of the shooter looks like he was carrying a Glock? A BB gun cannot be loaded with an actual blank round. A blank round is actually a live round that is packed with a gun powder and the front end is crimped tight.  

[Smokey and the Bandit]

13 hours ago, kennw said:

Look at the stats, the US leads the developed world in gun related deaths per capita, by a long long way.

Agreed, but my point remains valid, any criminal can, if they have enough money, get hold of a gun in the UK or anywhere, obviously including Thailand, where it seems it s not so difficult?