Tighter gun laws and better counselling services have helped bring down Victoria's murder rate, according to the head of the homicide squad, Detective Chief Inspector Rod Collins. In 1997 there were 61 murders. Nine remain unsolved. The murder rate peaked at 102 in 1987. Chief Inspector Collins said the rate in the 1980s was around 80 a year, but that had now dropped to about 60. "I think improved counselling services have helped some people deal with conflicts... (GunPolicy.org)

BANGKOK — An assistant to the village headman in a northern Thai town went on a shooting spree and killed four of his neighbours before turning the gun on himself and committing suicide, police said on Monday. Prathuang Ruankaew, 37, was thought to have suffered a nervous breakdown a few days before the shooting on Sunday in Baan Kwang village about 600 km (360 miles) north of Bangkok, police said. They said his parents told police that Prathuang, who was an... (GunPolicy.org)