At least nine people, including eight students and a teacher, have been killed in a school shooting in southern Turkey, marking the second such attack in the region within two days.
Gatekeepers News reports that the incident occurred at Ayser Calik Secondary School in the Kahramanmaras area, according to Interior Minister Mustafa Cifci. He said 13 others were injured, with six reported to be in critical condition.
Officials confirmed that the 14-year-old attacker was also killed during the incident. The attack comes just a day after another shooting at a high school in southern Turkey left 16 people injured when a former student opened fire before taking his own life.
Authorities said the motive behind Wednesday’s attack remains unclear, adding that an investigation is underway.
Local media reports indicated that the suspected attacker, believed to be a student, entered two classrooms armed with five guns and seven magazines. The weapons were allegedly owned by the boy’s father, a former police officer. The father has since been detained, according to reports.
Verified footage showed scenes of panic, with students jumping from first-floor windows and fleeing the school premises as gunfire rang out. A reporter with Turkish broadcaster NTV described the situation as chaotic, noting that “the sound of gunfire was very intense” and that there was “panic in front of the school.”
Distraught parents gathered outside the school following the attack. One parent, Omer Erdag, told AFP that his child witnessed the violence.
“My child witnessed the scene and said, ‘Dad, my friend got hurt’,” he said, questioning how families could feel safe sending their children back to school.
Reacting to the incident, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed sympathy for the victims, wishing a “speedy recovery to our children, our families, and our teachers” in a post on X.
