ANKARA: A teenager opened fire outside a high school in western Türkiye on Tuesday, wounding 11 students, including two seriously, before police detained the suspected attacker, authorities said.
The shooting occurred around 8am in Turgutlu, Manisa province, near the western city of Izmir, according to the regional governor’s office.
Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said police quickly apprehended the minor suspected of carrying out the attack. Investigators also detained the teenager’s parents and grandfather as authorities began examining the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
Police Launch Investigation After Turgutlu Attack
Police officers, emergency workers and worried parents rushed to the school following the gunfire.
Meanwhile, Turkish media broadcast CCTV footage apparently showing a young man walking along a street carrying what appeared to be a rifle. Separate footage showed police restraining a person outside the school before taking him away.
Authorities have opened an investigation, although officials have not publicly disclosed a possible motive.
School shootings remain relatively rare in Türkiye. However, the latest incident follows two deadly or injurious attacks on consecutive days in April that intensified concerns about school security and gun access.
Authorities Introduce New School Security Measures
The shooting occurred one day after Education Minister Yusuf Tekin and Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci signed a security protocol for the 2026-27 academic year.
Under the measures, authorities have deployed 31,000 school grounds supervisors for the first time.
Furthermore, police officers have been permanently assigned to schools classified as first- and second-degree security risks, while lower-risk schools have received designated police liaison officers.
Authorities also plan regular patrols around schools, inspections of school buses and reviews of abandoned buildings nearby.
The government strengthened these measures after the April attacks, while President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged tighter gun controls and identified school safety as a government priority.
