A former student carried out a shooting at a vocational high school in Siverek, Sanliurfa province, southeastern Turkey, injuring at least 16 individuals before taking his own life, according to a government official. The 18-year-old perpetrator, armed with a shotgun, opened fire indiscriminately before hiding inside the school premises and ultimately committing suicide using the same weapon, confirmed Governor Hasan Sildak.
Among the wounded were 10 students, four teachers, a canteen staff member, and a police officer, with the more severely injured individuals transferred to a hospital in the provincial capital. The motive behind the attack remains unknown, with school shootings being uncommon occurrences in Turkey.
Governor Sildak mentioned that the assailant had no previous criminal record and that the school was considered secure without a permanent police presence, categorizing the incident as an isolated event. Reports indicated that the attacker had made threats on social media before the shooting.
Witnesses described the chaotic scene, with one student recounting how he and a friend escaped by jumping out of a classroom window when the attacker entered and began firing without uttering a word. Following the incident, all students were evacuated, and police special units were dispatched to handle the situation before the assailant took his own life inside the building.
The governor assured a thorough investigation into the incident and confirmed that the assailant was subdued by law enforcement before his self-inflicted demise. Video footage captured students fleeing the school premises in the aftermath of the shooting.