Turkey Hit by Two School Shootings in 48 Hours

Turkey Hit by Two School Shootings in 48 Hours. Nine People Died

15.04.2026 18:30 HotInfo

In the city of Kahramanmaraş in southeastern Turkey, an armed eighth-grade student entered an elementary school on Wednesday, April 15, and opened fire on two classrooms. According to Turkish Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi, nine people died and thirteen were injured, six of them seriously. The victims included seven students and one teacher. According to the provincial governor, the attacker shot himself after the attack. The circumstances of his death have not yet been fully clarified. Al Jazeera ↗

The student arrived at the school armed with five firearms and seven magazines. According to police, the weapons belonged to his father — a retired police officer who was detained for questioning after the attack. The motive for the attack has not yet been determined. The Turkish Interior Minister stated that the case is being investigated by four chief civilian inspectors and four chief police inspectors. BBC News ↗

The tragedy came just one day after an eighteen-year-old former student fired a shotgun at a vocational secondary school in the city of Siverek in Şanlıurfa province, located approximately 200 kilometers from Kahramanmaraş. In the April 14 attack, sixteen people were injured — ten students, four teachers, a cafeteria worker, and a police officer. The attacker was surrounded by police and subsequently took his own life. CNN ↗

Two school shootings within 48 hours are extremely unusual in Turkey. Attacks at schools have so far been rare in the country — the last similar incident occurred in May 2024 in Istanbul. BBC News ↗

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addressed parliament and declared that those who were "negligent or committed misconduct will certainly be held accountable." Following Tuesday's attack in Siverek, police detained one suspect and suspended four officials. In Turkey, it is legal to own firearms under license, but experts have long warned about gaps in the control of their safekeeping in households. Asharq Al-Awsat ↗