Turkey held funerals throughout the morning of 16 April for the nine people killed – eight students and a teacher – in a school shooting in the province of Kahramanmaraş, whilst new documents brought to light during the investigation into the attack reveal that the attacker, a teenager aged just 14, had planned the assault days in advance. Meanwhile, Turkish authorities have ordered the closure of all schools in the province on 16 and 17 April as a precautionary measure.
The armed attack carried out yesterday by a pupil from the school itself was the second such incident in barely 24 hours to hit Türkiye, a country where attacks of this kind have historically been rare. According to the authorities, the attacker, aged 14 and the son of a former police inspector, entered two classrooms and began firing indiscriminately at everyone.
The perpetrator of the attack, who died during the shooting in circumstances that remain unclear, was carrying five firearms and seven magazines that he had possibly taken from his father. The funerals for the eight children aged between 10 and 11, along with a 55-year-old teacher, were held this morning in Kahramanmaraş amidst great displays of grief from the families of the nine fatalities.
The killer was an admirer of Elliot Rodger, the perpetrator of the Isla Vista massacre
Meanwhile, prosecutors leading the investigation reported in the last few hours that the suspect had previously planned what he described as a “major attack”. In a statement, the Kahramanmaraş Chief Prosecutor’s Office noted that a document dated 11 April had been discovered on the suspect’s computer, indicating his intention to carry out a large-scale operation “in the near future”. The police also indicated that the teenager was using an image on his WhatsApp profile linked to Elliot Rodger, the perpetrator of the so-called Isla Vista massacre in California (United States) in 2014, in which he killed six people before taking his own life.
“During the search of the perpetrator’s home, digital materials such as his personal computer and mobile phone were seized, and analysis of these materials revealed a document dated 11 April 2026 on the perpetrator’s computer, which indicated that he would carry out a major attack in the near future. In light of the available evidence, no terrorist connection has been identified in relation to the act, and it has been concluded in principle that it was carried out individually by the perpetrator,” stated a press release from the public prosecutor’s office published by the Turkish news agency Anatolia.
A teacher gave her life to save her pupils
As details of the tragedy emerge, the story has also come to light of the 55-year-old maths teacher who died in the shooting, Ayla Kara, regarded as a heroine as she died trying to protect her pupils during the attack on the secondary school in Kahramanmaraş.
Witnesses reported that the teacher was in the corridor when the shooting began, and that she entered the classroom and used her own body as a shield to protect the students whilst the attacker was firing, according to reports by Turkish media. The woman was hit by at least three bullets and died at the scene. Upon learning of her death, her husband went into shock and was hospitalised, and he was on the verge of fainting again during the funeral held this morning. In brief comments to the press, he said he felt “proud” of his wife’s actions: “She loved this place very much; we were going to build a house here, but her death took us by surprise,” he lamented resignedly.
Dozens arrested for inciting violence on social media
Turkey’s Justice Minister, Akın Gürlek, has announced that several accounts have been identified which caused public alarm by posting messages targeting schools and threatening attacks, and that 67 social media users who singled out 54 educational establishments have been arrested for glorifying violence and criminals and inciting attacks.
Meanwhile, the Turkish parliament has announced the creation of a commission to investigate attacks on educational establishments following the deadly shooting in Kahramanmaraş, with the agreement of all parties, which will aim to jointly address security concerns and prevent future incidents. Officials from the Justice and Development Party (AKP) noted that all political groups reached a consensus to tackle the problem.
Furthermore, the government held a high-level security meeting in Ankara at which, in addition to reviewing school security protocols, the need to address broader risk factors such as violence on the internet, cyberbullying and harmful digital content influencing young people was emphasised.
A country unaccustomed to armed attacks on schools
Until this week, school shootings had been rather unusual in Turkey. To find a similar incident, one has to go back to 2018, when an employee with mental health issues stormed the campus of a university in Eskişehir – in the north-west of the country – and fired at several colleagues, killing four of them; or even further to the so-called 1978 Beyazıt Massacre, carried out at Istanbul University, in which seven students were killed and another 41 people were injured. Turkey has strict laws on gun ownership — requiring licences, registration, criminal record checks and mental health assessments — although in recent years several reports have highlighted the problem of the proliferation of illegal weapons, mainly acquired via the internet.
Yesterday’s massacre in Kahramanmaraş came just one day after another deadly shooting at a school in Siverek, in the south-eastern province of Şanlıurfa, left 16 people injured; the attacker, an 18-year-old former pupil of the school, entered armed with a shotgun and began firing indiscriminately, before taking his own life.
Following these two successive shootings, Turkish authorities have stepped up security measures at all schools across the country, increasing the police presence and assigning at least two officers to each school entrance. In addition, security forces have stepped up checks in the vicinity of schools, and in cities such as Istanbul, the police have stopped vehicles and searched drivers and individuals deemed suspicious in areas near schools and colleges.
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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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