TURGUTLU, Türkiye: A youngster opened hearth outdoors a highschool in western Türkiye on Tuesday (Sep 22), wounding 11 individuals earlier than being detained by police, a minister mentioned.
The incident occurred round 8am (1pm, Singapore time) in Turgutlu in Manisa province, close to the western resort metropolis of Izmir, the regional governor’s workplace mentioned.
College shootings are uncommon in Türkiye, though there have been two assaults in April on consecutive days in southern Türkiye that sparked widespread anger.
“Eleven college students have been injured, two of them critically. The minor who carried out the assault was rapidly apprehended and brought into custody,” Justice Minister Akin Gurlek wrote on X.
He mentioned the suspect’s mother and father and grandfather had additionally been detained by investigators probing the assault, which noticed police and rescuers speeding to the scene alongside panicked mother and father.
DHA information company broadcast CCTV footage of the alleged attacker, a younger man sporting black denims, a black jacket and a inexperienced high, strolling alongside a avenue holding what gave the impression to be a long-barrelled gun.
IHA had the same picture of what gave the impression to be the identical individual with a gun, though this time operating.
NTV personal tv mentioned it was a shotgun.
Footage from outdoors the varsity confirmed police wrestling a person in a white shirt to the bottom earlier than main him away, as a lady screamed, with onlookers pressed in opposition to the varsity fence, filming with their cellphones.
Authorities have opened an investigation into the incident, Gurlek mentioned.
“How the weapon used within the assault ended up within the minor’s palms, the circumstances beneath which it was saved and supervised … and allegations of bullying previous to the incident are all being investigated,” he wrote on X.
The training ministry mentioned all classes have been suspended for the day on the faculty.
SCHOOL SAFETY
The assault got here 5 months after two back-to-back faculty shootings that raised public considerations about safety in Turkish faculties.
In April, a 14-year-old opened hearth at a college within the southern province of Kahramanmaras, killing a trainer and 9 college students aged 10 and 11. The attacker died on the scene.
A day earlier, one other teenager opened hearth at his former highschool within the southeastern province of Sanliurfa, wounding 16 individuals earlier than taking his personal life when confronted by police.
Following the 2 assaults, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dismissed a deputy training minister and pledged his authorities would introduce tighter controls on gun possession.
He vowed faculty security could be one of many authorities’s high priorities.
“After we have a look at related assaults around the globe, particularly in the USA, we see one of many perpetrators’ goals is to terrorise society,” he mentioned.
NEW SECURITY MEASURES
The assault got here a day after Schooling Minister Yusuf Tekin and Inside Minister Mustafa Ciftci signed a protocol setting out safety measures for the 2026-2027 tutorial yr, which started on Sep 14.
He mentioned 31,000 faculty grounds supervisors had been deployed for the primary time.
The ministry additionally carried out a recent safety evaluation of faculties and assigned law enforcement officials to first- and second-degree threat faculties, the place they continue to be on everlasting obligation, he mentioned.
Colleges categorised as decrease threat are assigned police liaison officers who work in coordination with faculty administrations.
