Guns, drugs and domestic violence: Thailand mass shooting puts spotlight on frail support systems

A gunman, who was sacked from the police force over drug use, stormed a nursery in Nong Bua Lam Phu province on Thursday killing 36 people

Experts say there is an urban-rural divide in drug treatment services in a country awash with guns, and the kingdom’s domestic violence crisis centres need urgent reforms

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People pray at a temple following the mass shooting in Nong Bua Lam Phu province, Thailand. Photo: Reuters

Published: 12:42pm, 8 Oct 2022

As Thailand reels from one of its worst mass killings, those on the frontline of family violence, drug addiction and mental illness in a country awash with guns say support systems are in crisis and need a shake-up to prevent further tragedies.

Former police officer Panya Khamrab stormed a nursery in northeastern Nong Bua Lam Phu province on Thursday killing 36 people, mostly children, before murdering his wife and young son and taking his own life.

Police said the gunman was sacked from the force over drug use – and had an addiction to yaba, a methamphetamine in pill form.

Health experts say meth use can lead to paranoia, hallucinations and violent behaviour and those withdrawing can experience psychosis.

Thailand is a major transit country for meth flooding in from Myanmar’s troubled Shan state via Laos, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. On the street, pills sell for as little as 20 baht (around US$0.50).