ANKARA, April 15 – A teenage student shot at least four people dead including three fellow pupils and wounded at least 20 others at a middle school in southeastern Turkey on Wednesday, the local governor said, marking the country’s second school attack in two days.
Three students and one teacher died in the attack in the province of Kahramanmaras, Governor Mukerrem Unluer told reporters, adding the shooter had shot and killed himself in the commotion.
“An eighth-grade student came with 5 weapons and 7 magazines – which we believe to be his former police officer father’s – in his bag, entered two classrooms where fifth grade students were, causing deaths and injuries indiscriminately,” Unluer said.
Eighth-grade students in Turkey are usually aged 13 or 14, and those in the fifth grade are aged 10 and 11.
The governor added that four of the wounded were in critical condition and undergoing surgery.
School shootings are very rare in Turkey.
Unverified footage showed several students jumping from a second-storey window at the school as gunshots echoed around the grounds. Unverified CCTV footage from the school showed the attacker shooting two students walking down a hallway.
Television footage from the school grounds on Wednesday showed ambulances arriving at the school where police and crowds had gathered by the gate. Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said on X that an investigation had been launched into the attack.
On Tuesday, a former student opened fire at a school in the southeastern province of Sanliurfa, wounding at least 16 people, including students and teachers, before killing himself. REUTERS