School shooting in southern Türkiye leaves 9 dead, 20 injured

A shooting at a middle school in southern Türkiye has killed nine people and injured at least 20 others, including six in critical conditions, the interior minister said Wednesday.

“We regret to report nine deaths (…) and 13 wounded. Six of them are currently in intensive care, three of whom are in critical condition,” Mustafa Çiftçi said in a statement from the city of Kahramanmaraş.

A student aged about 13 opened fire at random in Ayşel Çalık Middle School in the Onikişubat district, just one day after a shooter wounded 16 people and then killed himself in another school, officials said.

Kahramanmaraş Governor Mükerrem Ünlüer said a teacher and three students were killed in the latest attack. The attacker also died during the incident.

“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,” Ünlüer told reporters.

He said that preliminary findings indicate the assailant used five firearms and seven magazines during the attack, entering at least two classrooms before the incident unfolded.

The attacker, an eighth-grade student, was the son of a former police officer, Ünlüer said, adding that the suspect was carrying five guns and seven magazines.

“We suspect he may have taken his father’s weapons,” the governor said.

“He shot himself. It is not yet clear whether this was suicide or happened amid the chaos,” he said.

Police detained the ex-student’s father, Uğur Mersinli, the Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.

Footage released by IHA private news agency showed a person, body and face covered, being evacuated in an ambulance, as well as tearful parents who had rushed to the school.

Another video, taken by a resident of a nearby building shows students jumping from a first-floor window of the school to escape the gunfire, while dozens of others flee through the courtyard.

About 15 gunshots can be heard in the one-and-a-half-minute video.

Police increased security around the building, and television footage showed ambulances in the area.

The incident prompted the interior and education ministers to travel to the city.

‘Will be held accountable’

Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said prosecutors had launched an immediate investigation into the shooting.

On Tuesday, an ex-student opened fire with a shotgun at his former high school in Siverek district of Şanlıurfa province, wounding 16 people before killing himself in a showdown with police. Ten students were among the casualties.

Speaking to the ruling AK Party in parliament, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan promised that those found to have been negligent or at fault “will certainly be held accountable” over the school shootings.

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

School shootings in Türkiye had been rare until this week. In May 2024, a former student killed a private high school principal in Istanbul with a firearm five months after he was expelled.

Türkiye has strict gun laws that require licensing, registration, mental and criminal background checks, and severe penalties for illegal possession.

DAILYSABAH