BANGKOK – The 14-year-old boy who allegedly killed two people and injured five others at Bangkok’s Siam Paragon mall on Tuesday used a modified “blank gun” that could fire real bullets, according to the Thai authorities.

Blank guns, or blank firing guns, refer to imitation firearms – mostly pistols – that can be loaded with blank bullets and are often used as starting pistols in sports competitions or on movie sets.

But they can be modified to function like a real firearm with the replacement of the barrel.

This type of imitation gun is developed from the BB gun – which is designed to shoot metallic or plastic pellets – but with a more realistic look.

Media reports initially identified the weapon purportedly used by the teenager as a Glock pistol, perhaps due to how real it looked.

Such imitation guns are not considered firearms under Thai law, so it is legal to possess them without having a permit or registering them. However, blank guns modified to fire real bullets are considered illegal.

A Reuters report on Wednesday said that the suspect faces five charges, including illegal carrying of a firearm in public, illegal possession of a firearm, and illegal discharge of a firearm in public.

On Thursday, four men accused of selling a gun to the boy were arrested. According to Thai media reports, the men are suspected of modifying the blank gun, selling and delivering the weapon, and withdrawing the money earned from their sale from an ATM.

Although it is not illegal to possess a blank gun, the Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, Fireworks and Imitation Guns Act of 1947 prohibits openly carrying imitation guns in public places.

Blank guns and BB guns are available for sale on social media and popular online shopping platforms, with prices ranging from a few thousand baht to more than 10,000 baht (S$370) for a modified version.

However, searches on a popular online shopping platform on Thursday showed “The product is not found”.

Following Tuesday’s shooting incident, newly appointed police chief Torsak Sukvimol said the Royal Thai Police was working with the Interior Ministry to declare blank guns illegal.

He said a large number of blank guns had been imported in recent years, adding that modified blank guns were used in many crimes.

Police records show that an average of more than 100 blank gun barrels are seized per month, or between 1,200 and 1,500 barrels per year.

During a police crackdown in July, about 2,000 blank gun barrels and more than 100,000 rounds of ammunition were seized.

Blank guns are mostly modified for illegal purposes and used in criminal activities, according to police. THE NATION/ASIA NEWS NETWORK