Death toll rises in Turkey's second school shooting

A 14-year-old armed with five guns opened fire at a Turkish school on Wednesday, killing nine people, wounding 13 and sparking scenes of mayhem as students jumped out of windows to escape.

The attack in the southern province of Kahramanmaras province was Turkey’s second such incident in as many days, shocking a country where school shootings are rare.

Of the 13 wounded, six are in intensive care, three in a critical condition.

The minister described the attacker as an “eighth grade student aged 14”.

“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,” Kahramanmaras province governor Mukerrem Unluer said.

Dramatic video filmed by a resident of a nearby building and verified by AFP shows students jumping from a first-floor window of the school to escape the gunfire, while dozens of others flee through the courtyard. Unverified CCTV footage showed the attacker shooting two students walking down a hallway. About 15 gunshots can be heard in the 90-second video.

Mr Unluer said the attacker was the son of a former police officer, armed with five guns and seven magazines. He died during the incident.

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

Police detained the shooter’s father, Ugur Mersinli, and his mother, the official Anadolu news agency reported.

Police said that the teenager had referenced US mass killer Elliot Rodger in a photo on his WhatsApp profile.

The 22-year-old American murdered six people and then killed himself in California in 2014, and had professed frustration over his virginity and women rejecting him.

Footage released by Turkey’s DHA private news agency showed a victim in a body bag, as well as parents rushing to the scene, some in tears. in the southern province’s main city, Kahramanmaras.

The interior and education ministers travelled to the city, while Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said prosecutors had launched an immediate investigation into the shooting.

Parent Omer Erdag said his child witnessed the scene. “(He said) ‘Dad, my friend got hurt.’ He didn’t see the other children. There was a lot of blood inside. Thank God, I managed to get my child out of there,” the father said.

“Of course I’m worried. How am I going to bring my kids to this school again?”

“My God help us. It’s terrible,” local resident Zuleyha Bosca said.

“Do these violent video games cause psychological problems in children? What exactly is the issue? We don’t know.”

Dozens of teachers’ unions members rallied outside the education ministry in the capital Ankara on Wednesday, carrying banners that read: “We will not surrender our schools to violence.”

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: “In this tragic attack, we unfortunately lost our bright young children and a devoted educator.”

He said the incident would be “thoroughly clarified in all its aspects,” in a message on X, while warning that the pain from this attack should “not be politicised

The shooting came a day after an ex-student opened fire with a shotgun at his former high school in Siverek district of Sanliurfa province, in the south-east of the country.

That gunman wounded 16 people before killing himself in a showdown with police. Ten students were among the casualties. Police detained one suspect after Tuesday’s attack and suspended four officials from duty.

The school was ordered closed for four days.

Main opposition leader Ozgur Ozel called for broader security measures.

“At this point, it is clearly evident that violence in schools can no longer be explained by isolated incidents,” he wrote on social media.

“This issue has turned into a growing and deepening security vulnerability,” he said.

Measures such as ensuring full control at school entrances and exits, increasing the number of security personnel, strengthening camera systems, intensifying police patrols around schools, and keeping emergency crisis plans ready are now essential, he added.

“The security of schools is entrusted to our state. No negligence or deficiency in this regard can be excused anymore,” Ozel said.

School shootings in Turkey 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.

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