One evening in 2006 in Bangkok, Sunantha Ratchawat was hit by a stray bullet when a group of strangers pulled out a gun to settle a roadside dispute.

"I heard gunfire. My friend was terrified. We tried to sit down to hide, but unfortunately the gunman's target ran to us and fell down, leaving me and my friend with stray bullets." , Sunantha recalls the story many years ago in Khao San, a busy neighborhood in Bangkok, Thailand.

"Everything was very noisy. First, I felt numb under my arm, then saw blood flowing from my arm and felt pain, extremely hurt. That moment I realized I had been shot." , Sunantha said.

The girl, then in her early 20s, was taken to the hospital with severe bleeding and had to be in a intensive care unit for 7 days. Sunantha's friend was shot in the stomach, while another victim was killed.

Thailand is famous for being "the land of smiles", but it is also one of the countries with the highest gun ownership rates in the world. Studies show that gun-related death rates per capita in Thailand are higher than in the US, where news of shootings frequently appears.

According to a 2016 study by the University of Washington, USA, Thailand had more than 3,000 gun killings each year, resulting in gun violence deaths of 4.45 / 100,000, 8 times higher than its neighbors. neighboring Malaysia and even bigger than Iraq, one of the most volatile countries in the world.

Also according to data from the University of Washington, the gun death rate in 2013 in Thailand was 7.48 / 100,000, more than double the rate in the US of 3.55 / 100,000 and the highest in Asia that year. . The number of people killed by gunfire in Thailand is also 50% higher than the Philippines.

According to experts, despite frequent gun violence, Thailand rarely sees large-scale shootings as in the US, due to the majority of the murder shootings in the country related to ice violence. party or personal conflict.

Therefore, the sergeant Jakrapanth Thomma, a military officer of the military unit in Nakhon Ratchasima city, opened fire to kill 29 people on February 8, making the country shocked.

"Sometimes conflicts happen and guns seem to be the solution. It helps everyone to be equal," police colonel Naras Savestanan, the head of the Thai Corrections Department, said. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha yesterday also said Jakrapanth's shooting motive was due to a "personal problem" related to the sale of a home.

According to CNA correspondent Jack Board, gun violence in Thailand is linked to millions of guns circulating in the country, many of them illegal and unregistered. However, the government has not announced the exact situation of gun ownership, despite widespread violence. Since the gun ownership law was introduced in 1947, all gun archives across the country have been recorded manually, incomplete and messy.

"Not only that, those records are scattered in district and provincial offices. We have 5-6 million gun ownership licenses and are trying to enter computers," said Chamnanwit Terat, Deputy Head of the Administration Department. Local Thailand, said in 2018. "We are aware of errors such as duplicates, or a license for multiple weapons."

Chamnanwit believes that self-defense is a good reason for "mature" citizens in Thailand to own arms, especially when they "cannot always rely on state protection". However, he also wants the gun ownership regulations to be tightened, in order to carefully assess whether a person is suitable for owning a gun.

Dozens of gun shops are located along the boulevards in Wang Burapha, a long-standing district in central Bangkok, including famous landmarks for their decades of operation. Over time, the stalls are now filled with modern weapons.

"First-time visitors to this neighborhood are surprised, because not many people think that Thailand is a gun-shooting paradise," said an unnamed gun researcher living in Wang Burapha.

Stores do not need to operate secretly or in a hidden corner, showing the comfort of owning a gun in Thailand. The government says one out of every 10 Thais has a gun, even if data on their number of legal guns is not complete.

The paperwork required to own a gun in Thailand is thought to be incomplete. An undocumented citizen only needs to produce documents from local agencies, bank statements and a certificate from the workplace manager. The review process usually takes several weeks, after which licensees can buy guns.

The rifle at Wang Burapha is the cheapest, about $ 1,300, much higher than the US, but ordinary Thai citizens can still afford it. "This is really easy, the only problem is getting a permit from the government. If you are an ordinary citizen, the procedure is very simple," the gun researcher said.

Buying illegal weapons is even easier. Many Thais say buying guns through the black market only takes a day or two, customers are mostly criminals. Therefore, people armed themselves as prescribed by law have more reason to own guns.

"I believe a good person can use guns in a good way. Banning guns in Thailand also means that good people no longer have the opportunity to own them. Who else can they protect then?", Weapon self-defense coach David Sutthaluang suggested.

Former Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Pirom was the rare person to call for amending the gun laws in the country. He wants to open up a new period of pardon for the nation, so that people can hand over illegal guns without penalty, something Thailand had done in previous decades.

"It is time for us to look carefully at the source and where the gun is stored. I think this is a natural reaction because every morning when you read the newspaper, listen to the radio or watch television, you see more people dying. a lot of crazy murders. They seem to be too common and become commonplace in Thai society even though this is a Buddhist country. We have laws, but poor practices, "Kasit said.

Sunantha did not seek justice after being attacked on Khao San Street in 2006, despite being severely damaged by stray bullets. "I almost lost an arm, but fortunately recovered after a year of physical therapy. Although it did not move as well as 100%, it was fine and I got used to it," she said.

Her life is also much different from the time before the incident, when she often goes to nightclubs in Bangkok. Over the years, Sunantha was afraid to go to a noisy public space like a bar, because she was worried that a stranger would fire again like before.

"That's why I try to be more careful, look around and see if there's anything wrong, so I can run away in time. If you see someone with a gun, you better stay away. because that is not normal, "Sunantha said.