Shooter opens fire near high school in Turkey, wounding at least 11
Summary
An attacker opened fire near a vocational and technical high school in Turgutlu, Manisa province, western Turkey, on Tuesday and wounded at least 11 people. The suspected shooter was arrested, and at least two injured people were in serious condition. Police and medical teams were sent to the scene immediately. Authorities said the motive was not known and two chief prosecutors were assigned to investigate.
Key Facts
- Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said at least two of the injured were in serious condition.
- The provincial governor's office said the shooting happened in front of a vocational and technical high school in Turgutlu district, in Manisa province.
- HaberTurk said the assailant was a 15-year-old student who took a shotgun from his grandmother's house and fired randomly near the school before trying to flee on foot.
- Gurlek said the assailant's parents and grandfather, who owned the gun, were taken into custody as part of the investigation.
- Turkey had already been shocked by two school shootings earlier this year, and security at educational facilities was increased at the start of the academic year last week.
A police officer stand guard at a police cordon near high school where a gunman opened fire wounding eleven people and was detained shortly afterwards, in Turgutlu, an area west of the resort city of Izmir, Tuesady (local time). AFP-Yonhap
An attacker opened fire near a high school in western Turkey on Tuesday and wounded at least 11 people, officials said. The suspected shooter was arrested.
At least two of the injured were in serious condition, Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said in a statement on X.
The attack took place in front of a vocational and technical high school in Turgutlu district, in Manisa province, the provincial governor's office said. Police and medical teams were immediately sent to the scene.
HaberTurk news channel said the assailant was a 15-year-old student at the school. The report added that he arrived at the scene armed with a shotgun he took from his grandmother's house and fired randomly near the school before trying to flee the scene on foot.
The motive of the attack was not known, according to Gurlek, who said two chief prosecutors were appointed to investigate the shooting, including claims that the student was bullied at the school.
The assailant's parents and grandfather, who owned the gun, were taken into custody as part of the investigation, Gurlek said.
Security camera video showed the alleged shooter walking down a street carrying a weapon. Another video showed him running down a street, still carrying the weapon.
Anxious parents rushed to the school and confrontations broke out between them and police who blocked entrance to the building, Cumhuriyet newspaper reported.
The attack came months after Turkey was shocked by two school shootings this year. The government increased security at educational facilities at the start of the academic year last week.
In April, 16 people, mostly students, were wounded when a former student opened fire at a high school in Sanliurfa province in Turkey's southeast. The assailant later killed himself.
The next day, a 14-year-old student opened fire on two classrooms at his school in nearby Kahramanmaras province, killing eight students and a teacher and wounding 13 others. The attacker was killed by police.
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