BREAKING: Teacher, 3 Kids Dead After Teen Opens Fire Inside Turkish School
Second deadly school attack in two days shocks the nation
A 13- or 14-year-old eighth-grade student opened fire inside Ayser Çalık Secondary School in the Onikişubat district of Kahramanmaraş province in southern Turkey, killing four people and wounding at least 20 others.
According to Kahramanmaraş Governor Mukerrem Unluer, the victims included one teacher and three students. The shooter, who carried five pistols and seven magazines in his backpack, entered two fifth-grade classrooms and fired randomly. The attacker was also killed during the incident.
The weapons are believed to belong to the boy’s father, a retired police officer. Authorities have taken the father into custody as part of the ongoing investigation.
Scenes of Chaos
Students jumped from windows to escape the gunfire. Emergency services rushed to the scene, and footage showed police, medical teams, and distressed parents gathering outside the school.
This was the second school shooting in Turkey in just two days. On April 14, an 18-year-old former student opened fire at a vocational high school in Siverek, Şanlıurfa province, wounding at least 16 people before killing himself.
Rare but Alarming Trend
Mass school shootings remain extremely rare in Turkey due to strict gun-control laws. Officials and education experts have expressed shock at the rapid succession of attacks, prompting urgent questions about school security, access to firearms, and mental health support for young people.
Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi and other officials visited the area as funerals for the victims began. The death toll was later revised upward in some reports, with additional victims succumbing to injuries.
No motive has been officially confirmed, though police are investigating all possibilities, including any online activity or ideological influences linked to the shooter.
The incident has sent ripples of grief and anger across Turkey, with many calling for tighter controls on weapons in homes of law enforcement personnel and enhanced security measures in schools.