A horrifying school shooting in Turkey has left at least four people dead and dozens more injured after a student reportedly opened fire inside his own school.
The violence unfolded Wednesday, April 15, at Ayser Çalık Middle School in the city of Kahramanmaraş. Authorities say the suspect—an eighth grade student—arrived at school armed with multiple weapons hidden inside his backpack.
According to officials, the student first fired shots into the air in the schoolyard before entering the building. What happened next turned deadly.
Investigators say he walked into two separate classrooms and began firing indiscriminately at students and staff.
By the time the chaos ended, four people were dead, including three students and one teacher. At least 20 others were injured, with several reported to be in critical condition and undergoing emergency surgery.
Officials also confirmed that the suspect died during the incident.
Authorities believe the weapons may have belonged to the student’s father, a former police officer, raising serious questions about how the guns were accessed.
Emergency crews rushed to the scene after reports of gunfire, while police quickly secured the school and began evacuating students. The area was flooded with first responders as panicked families waited for updates.
Top government officials, including Turkey’s interior, education, and health ministers, are expected to visit the scene as the investigation intensifies.
Prosecutors say multiple inspectors and forensic teams have been assigned to determine exactly how the attack unfolded and whether any warning signs were missed.
The tragedy comes just one day after another school shooting in Turkey left more than a dozen people injured, adding to growing concerns over school safety in the region.
As investigators work to piece together what led to the deadly rampage, a community is now left grieving the loss of young lives in a place that should have been safe.