A student opened fire this morning with a shotgun near a secondary school in the Turkish town of Turgutlu, in the province of Manisa, in the west of Turkey. 11 students were injured and three of them are in a critical condition, whilst the suspect was arrested after attempting to flee the scene. The motives behind this new shooting at educational premises in Türkiye have not yet been established.
Three of the students, who are in a serious condition, underwent emergency surgery
The incident took place at around 08:00 this morning near the Anatolia İnci Üzmez Vocational and Technical High School, located in the district of Turgutlu, some 50 kilometres east of the city of Izmir. The attacker, identified by the initials H.O., is a 15-year-old student in Year 9 who opened fire with a gun in the vicinity of the school, according to Turkish media reports.
Following the alert, numerous medical and police teams were dispatched to the area. The injured students were taken to medical centres for treatment; according to the latest reports, three of them were in a more serious condition than the others and underwent emergency surgery. They remain in intensive care.
Tense moments between parents and the police
Following the shoot out, the suspect fled on foot but was located and arrested by the security forces shortly afterwards. His father, mother and grandfather have also been arrested and taken into custody as part of the investigation launched following the shooting. Meanwhile, footage from security cameras has emerged showing the attacker walking towards the school grounds with a shotgun in his hand and later running away after the attack.
News of the shooting at the school prompted numerous parents to rush to the premises immediately to try to locate their children and find out if they were safe. There were even moments of tension and a scuffle between relatives and police officers, who had established a security cordon around the school, when several parents tried to force their way into the premises.
The investigation is focusing on how the minor obtained the weapon
The Manisa Governor’s Office initially reported that it had received a 7.59 am alert regarding a shooting near the school. Whilst initial reports mentioned eight injured people who had been taken to the nearest hospital, the number of victims subsequently rose to eleven. It also confirmed the arrest of the perpetrator and the launch of a judicial and administrative investigation into the incident.
Subsequently, Turkey’s Minister of Justice, Akın Gürlek, reported that the mother, father and grandfather of the minor had been arrested. The Public Prosecutor’s Office in Turgutlu launched a wide-ranging investigation and appointed two prosecutors to lead the inquiry, as Gürlek stated on social media.
“The investigation is meticulously examining how the weapon used in the attack came into the minor’s possession, the conditions under which it was stored, the parents’ responsibilities for care and supervision, and the allegations of bullying amongst classmates prior to the incident,” the minister stated.
This has not been the only school shooting in Turkey this year. On 14 April, a former pupil opened fire at a high school in Siverek, Şanlıurfa, leaving 16 students injured before taking his own life. The following day, another 14-year-old pupil attacked a school in Kahramanmaraş, killing nine students and a teacher and leaving 13 injured. Both attacks, which took place just one day apart, caused a great stir across the country and led the authorities to step up security measures in schools.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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