A 14-year-old student opened fire at a school in southern Turkey, killing eight students and one teacher in a shooting that has left the country in shock.
According to AFP, Interior Minister Mustafa Cifci confirmed the attack took place at Ayser Calik Secondary School in the Kahramanmaras region. Thirteen others were injured, six critically. Authorities said the attacker also died during the incident.
Local reports said the eighth-grade suspect carried five guns and seven sets of ammunition into two fifth-grade classrooms. Regional governor Mukerren Unluer said the weapons reportedly belonged to the student’s father, a former police officer, who has since been arrested.
Police have launched an investigation, with no motive yet established.
Kahramanmaraş’ta gerçekleşen, tüm Türkiye’yi derinden üzen silahlı saldırıdan etkilenen tüm vatandaşlarımıza, tüm ailelerimize, özellikle sevgili yavrularımıza geçmiş olsun dileklerimi iletiyorum.
Bu elim saldırıda maalesef pırıl pırıl evlatlarımızı ve fedakâr bir eğitimcimizi…
— Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RTErdogan) April 15, 2026
“Our public prosecutors, administrative, and education inspectors are meticulously conducting the investigations that were immediately launched. The incident will undoubtedly be fully clarified in all its aspects. Our Ministers of National Education, Family and Social Services, Interior, Justice, and Health have arrived in Kahramanmaraş to personally oversee the process, attend to our injured, and share in their pain with those affected by the incident,” the Turkish President wrote on X.
Footage shared by Reuters showed panic as people jumped from first-floor windows and fled the school.
“The sound of gunfire was very intense,” a reporter for Turkish broadcaster NTV said.
In other clips, parents and residents gathered outside as medics evacuated victims in ambulances.
“My child witnessed the scene and said, ‘Dad, my friend got hurt.’ How am I going to bring my kids to this school again?” parent Omer Erdag told AFP.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed condolences on X, saying, “It is both a matter of conscience and moral duty that an attack like this, which has ignited a burning fire in the hearts of our entire nation, not be turned into material for political polemics or ratings concerns. Pain has no politics. Given the sensitivity of the incident, I kindly request that all segments of society, starting with our press members, exercise the necessary care.”
The tragedy comes a day after another school shooting in southern Turkey in which a former student injured 16 people before killing himself.
Authorities are facing growing concern over school safety and rising violence.
On Instagram, Ferit Cann wrote, “Regrettably, it is a combination of mafia-themed TV shows, digital games, the erosion of national and moral values, and insufficient school security. My heart goes out to the Turkish people.”