Turkiye school shooting: 9 dead, 13 injured after armed student opens fire

At least nine people, including eight students and a teacher, were shot dead, while 13 others were injured on Wednesday in a school in Turkiye, AP reported, citing a local official.

The attack comes a day after a shooter wounded 16 people and then killed himself in another school.

Armed student reportedly carried father's guns: Governor

Mukerrem Unluer, Kahramanmaras province governor, said that a teacher and eight students were killed in the latest attack. Speaking to reporters, Unluer said, "A student came to school with guns that we believe belonged to his father in his backpack. He entered two classrooms and opened fire randomly, causing injuries and deaths."

According to the report, the 14-year-old student, who was also killed, carried five firearms and seven magazines, which are believed to be his father's, a retired police officer. Unluer said among those wounded, at least four are reported to be in serious condition, and added that the motive of the attack wasn't immediately known.

Anadolu news agency reported that the police detained the ex-student's father, Ugur Mersinli.

Police ramp up security around the school

The report added that video footage released by the IHA private news agency showed a person, body and face covered, being evacuated in an ambulance, along with tearful parents who rushed to the school in the southern province's main city, Kahramanmaras.

Following the incident, police have ramped up security around the school building, and television footage showed ambulances being present in the area.

Turkiye's Justice Minister Akin Gurlek noted that prosecutors had launched an immediate investigation into the latest shooting case.

Reacting to the recent incidents, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke to the ruling AKP party in parliament and promised that those found to have been negligent or at fault "will certainly be held accountable."

Second incident in two days

Earlier on Tuesday, an ex-student opened fire with a shotgun at his former high school in the Siverek district of Sanliurfa province, injuring 16 people before killing himself in a showdown with police. Reports suggest that as many as 10 students and a teacher were among those who were injured.

The 18-year-old attacker fired randomly inside a vocational high school and later killed himself with the same shotgun after being "cornered by police," Governor Hasan Sildak said.

The governor added that the attacker did not have a criminal record, and the school had been declared safe, and no permanent police officer was assigned to protect it. Sildak called the shooting an "isolated incident."

According to NTV television and other media reports, the assailant had threatened an attack on the school on social media before the shooting.

Police detained one suspect after Tuesday's attack and suspended four officials from duty, Erdogan said. The school was ordered closed for four days.

Opposition calls for broader security measures

According to an AFP report, the main opposition CHP leader Ozgur Ozel called for broader security measures. In a post on X, he wrote, "At this point, it is clearly evident that violence in schools can no longer be explained by isolated incidents," and added, "This issue has turned into a growing and deepening security vulnerability."

The opposition leader went on to say that measures such as ensuring full control at school entrances and exits, increasing the number of security personnel, strengthening camera systems, and keeping emergency crisis plans ready are now crucial.

Despite these two instances in two days, reports suggest that school shootings in Turkiye are rare. In May 2024, a former student killed a private high school principal in Istanbul with a firearm, five months after he was expelled.