A new school shooting in Turkey has left at least four people dead and 20 injured in the past few hours at the Ayser Çalık School, located in the province of Kahramanmaraş, in the south-east of the country. The fatalities include a teacher and three students, whilst several of the injured are in a critical condition. The alleged perpetrator, an eighth-year pupil at the school who used several weapons belonging to his father, also died at the scene after shooting himself.
The horrific incident, which occurred just one day after another shooting in Turkey at a secondary school in the district of Siverek (Şanlıurfa), took place when the attacker, after apparently firing several shots into the air in the playground of the Ayser Çalık Secondary School, entered two classrooms and opened fire, according to the Turkish news channel NTV, citing information provided by the governor of Kahramanmaraş, Mükerrem Ünlüer.
The first images released of the attack showed emergency crews hurriedly evacuating several injured people in ambulances. Following the initial reports, numerous parents rushed to the school to find out first-hand what had happened and whether their children were among the victims. According to the governor, the attacker, a 16-year-old and the son of a former police officer, also died after taking his own life, having used a total of five firearms in the shooting.
“An eighth-grade pupil carrying weapons in his rucksack entered two classrooms where students were present and opened fire indiscriminately, causing deaths and injuries. Unfortunately, there are four fatalities. One of them was a teacher and the other three were pupils. There are also 20 injured, four of whom are currently undergoing surgery and are in a critical condition. Our efforts continue; we are confident that our injured brothers and sisters will recover as soon as possible. There have been no other incidents at other schools. The false reports circulating on social media regarding this matter are not true,” the governor stated.
The attacker, a 16-year-old pupil, was the son of a former police officer
“(The attacker) shot himself during the commotion. It is currently unknown whether this was a suicide or whether he shot himself (accidentally) in the midst of the attack. The eighth-grade pupil who caused the incident is one of our students, and his father is a former police officer. We suspect he took the weapons from him. He arrived with five pistols and seven magazines, and entered two classrooms,” added Ünlüer.
The Turkish press noted that, initially, the alert sent to the security forces warned of an altercation between students. The Minister of Justice, Akın Gürlek, has announced the assignment of three deputy prosecutors and four prosecutors to the investigation, over which the Turkish authorities have imposed a news blackout to prevent any interference. This attack which took place today in Kahramanmaraş, is the second school shooting in Turkey in just 24 hours, following yesterday’s armed attack in the district of Siverek, in the province of Şanlıurfa – also in the south-east of the country – which left 16 people injured, most of them students, several of whom are in a critical condition.
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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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