A STUDENT has shot at least nine people dead, including fellow pupils, and wounded at least 13 at a middle school in south-central Turkiye, the interior minister says.
Wednesday’s attack in the province of Kahramanmaras was carried out by a student in the eighth grade, Governor Mukerrem Unluer told reporters. The attacker was also dead.
“We regret to report nine deaths … and 13 wounded. Six of them are currently in intensive care, three of whom are in critical condition,” Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci said.
Unluer said the student who carried out the shooting is believed to have used guns that belonged to his father, a former police officer. The student concealed the weapons in a backpack, entered two classrooms and opened fire “randomly”, Unluer said.
The shooting is the country’s second school attack in two days, coming after Tuesday’s shooting at a high school in Sanliurfa province in the southeast. It was conducted by a former student who killed himself in a showdown with police after wounding 16 people.
Footage released at the scene of Wednesday’s shooting by the IHA private news agency showed a person being evacuated in an ambulance with body and face covered as well as tearful parents who had rushed to the school.
Witnesses quoted by the media said intense gunfire was heard.
Police have increased security around the building and television footage showed ambulances present in the area.
Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said prosecutors had launched an investigation into the shooting.
Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu, reporting from Istanbul, said the public has “many questions” after the recent attacks. “How did this young boy access his father’s guns? Are [authorities] going to improve gun control even though it’s already strict?” she asked. “Details remain to be assessed.”
School shootings are rare in Turkiye. In May 2024, a former student killed a private high school principal in Istanbul with a firearm five months after he was expelled.
Turkiye’s stringent gun laws require licensing, registration, and mental and criminal background checks. They also set out severe penalties for illegal possession.
