The mother of the minor perpetrator of the shooting that took place last week at a primary school in the city of Kahramanmaraş, in south-eastern Turkey, has been arrested as part of the investigation into the attack that left nine people dead – eight pupils aged between 11 and 12 and a teacher – as well as the attacker himself.
During the investigation into the armed attack carried out on 15 April at the Ayser Çalık School, in which the perpetrator of the massacre used five weapons and seven magazines, the minor’s father, retired police chief Uğur Mersinli, was arrested and remanded in custody on 16 April; however, Peyman Pınar Mersinli, mother of İsa Aras Mersinli (the 14-year-old who carried out the attack) and a teacher of Turkish Language and Literature, had been released after being detained in the hours following the shooting for questioning.
However, according to a report today in the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet, a new arrest warrant has now been issued for Peyman Pınar Mersinli, who was reportedly arrested as she was returning from visiting her husband in the prison in Elazığ province where he is being held. After being taken to the local court, she appeared via video link before a court in Kahramanmaraş, which ordered her remand in custody on charges of manslaughter due to negligence.
At least two psychologists recommended his admission to a psychiatric clinic
According to information provided by the Kahramanmaraş Chief Prosecutor’s Office, at least two psychologists had examined the 14-year-old before he committed the massacre and had recommended treatment at a child psychiatric clinic for him. However, the mother of the perpetrator of the school shooting ignored the experts’ recommendations and did not seek specialist medical care for her son, who, prior to the attack, had already been described by those around him and his teachers as a troubled child with difficulties adapting to society.
“Following an examination of these documents, it was established that, although two psychologists working at two different institutions, one public and the other private, had diagnosed and recommended that İsa Aras Mersinli needed treatment at a child psychiatry clinic prior to the date of the incident, the mother, Peyman Pınar Mersinli, did not take the doctors’ recommendations into account and did not visit these psychiatric clinics to seek medical support”, the public prosecutor’s office stated in a public announcement.
The public prosecutor’s office in Kahramanmaraş considers that the failure to address the child’s psychological disorders played a key role in the fatal outcome; consequently, the mother’s negligent conduct, coupled with the gravity of the consequences of her lack of diligence, justifies her remand in custody. The attacker’s own father, Uğur Mersinli, had told investigators after his arrest that his son’s psychological state was unstable and that on the day of the attack he had refused to go to school; however, he maintains that the firearms were kept under lock and key at home, so he cannot explain how the minor was able to access them.
Erdoğan promises tougher penalties and new restrictions on gun ownership
The shooting that took place on 15 April at Ayser Çalık School shocked the entire country, prompting a thorough investigation in search of answers that is examining both the family environment and possible institutional failings. The attack also occurred just one day after another shooting at a vocational college in Siverek (Şanlıurfa province) in which a teenager armed with a shotgun left 16 people injured before taking his own life.
Turkey’s Justice Minister, Akın Gürlek, stated yesterday that the counsellor at the school in Kahramanmaraş where the horrific tragedy took place had urged the family of the shooter on at least 13 occasions to seek psychological help for the minor, but that these recommendations were ignored by both the mother and the father, who repeatedly postponed seeking a solution.
For his part, Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan has promised new and severe measures to prevent something like this from happening again, including tougher penalties for those who possess weapons and fail to secure them properly, without ruling out further legal restrictions on gun ownership in the country.
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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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