ANKARA, Turkey — A deadly shooting at a Turkish middle school has claimed four lives and left 20 people injured, marking an unprecedented second school attack in the nation within 48 hours.
The shooting occurred Wednesday when a student indiscriminately fired weapons in two separate classrooms at the school located in southeastern Turkey. Provincial Governor Mukerrem Unluer of Kahramanmaras confirmed that the shooter, who also died in the incident, had brought firearms that reportedly belonged to his father, a former police officer.
“The gunman was carrying five firearms and seven magazines,” Unluer stated. Among those killed were one teacher and three students, while at least four of the injured remain in critical condition. Investigators have not yet determined what motivated the deadly assault.
This tragedy follows Tuesday’s violence at a high school in the neighboring Sanliurfa province, where a former student wounded 16 people, primarily students, before taking his own life.
School shootings have been exceptionally uncommon in Turkey until this week’s back-to-back incidents.
Emergency responders, including police and medical teams, quickly arrived at the school in Kahramanmaras’ Onikisubat district after reports of gunfire. Television footage captured emergency personnel loading victims into ambulances while distraught parents gathered outside the school grounds.
According to NTV television, authorities established a security perimeter around the school as concerned families rushed to the scene following news of the armed assault.
