Four people killed in Turkiye’s second school shooting in two days | Gun Violence News

Three students and a teacher are killed in the south-central province of ​Kahramanmaras, governor says.

⁠A student ⁠has shot at least four people dead, including fellow pupils, and wounded at least ⁠20 at a middle school in south-central Turkiye, according to its ⁠governor.

Governor Mukerrem Unluer told reporters three students and one teacher were killed in Wednesday’s attack in the ‌province of Kahramanmaras, which he said was carried out by a student in the eighth grade. The attacker was also dead.

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

The shooting is the country’s second school attack in two days, coming after Tuesday’s shooting at a high school in Sanliurfa province in the southeast conducted by a former student who killed himself in a showdown with police after wounding 16 people.

Four of the wounded in ‘serious condition’

Unluer said the student who carried out Wednesday’s shooting is believed to have used guns that belonged to his father, a former police officer. The student concealed the weapons in a backpack, entered two classrooms and opened fire “randomly”, said Unluer.

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

Witnesses quoted by media said intense gunfire was heard.

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

Four of the 20 wounded were in serious condition and undergoing surgery, said Unluer.

Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said prosecutors had launched an investigation into the shooting.

Al Jazeera’s Sineom Koseoglu, reporting from Istanbul, said the public has “many questions” after the recent attacks. “How did this young boy access his father’s guns? Are [authorities] going to improve gun control, even though it’s already strict?” she asked. “Details remain to be assessed.”

School ⁠shootings are rare in Turkiye. In May 2024, a former student killed a private high school principal in Istanbul with a firearm five months after he was expelled.

Turkiye’s stringent gun laws require licensing, registration, mental and criminal background checks, and severe penalties for illegal possession.