Four Killed and 20 Wounded in Turkey Middle School Shooting in Kahramanmaraş

An 8th-grade student opened fire at Ayser Calik Middle School in the Onikisubat district of Kahramanmaraş province, Turkey, on Wednesday, killing four people — one teacher and three students — and wounding 20 others, Kahramanmaraş Governor Mükerrem Ünlüer told reporters. The attacker, whose age was not specified in official statements, brought five firearms and seven magazines concealed in a backpack and opened fire after entering two classrooms. Four of the wounded were undergoing surgery and were in critical condition, according to Ünlüer. The attacker also died during the incident, though the governor noted it remained unclear whether he shot himself intentionally or was wounded in the chaos. Ünlüer said the weapons likely belonged to the student's father, described as a former police officer. The shooting began at 13:30 local time, according to Il Fatto Quotidiano.

Justice minister imposes broadcast ban on investigation Justice Minister Akın Gürlek announced on the Turkish social media platform NSosyal that a broadcast ban on information regarding the investigation had been imposed to ensure the integrity of the process. Gürlek stated that media outlets were urged to strictly respect the confidentiality of the investigation, and that necessary updates at all stages would be provided by the authorities. The Chief Public Prosecutor of the Republic, Ramazan Murat Tiryaki, confirmed that a formal investigation had been opened. Education Minister Yusuf Tekin traveled to the site of the attack, as did the ministers of health and interior, according to Corriere della Sera. Recordings circulating on social media showed students jumping from the school building's windows in an attempt to escape, according to Niezalezna.pl. Governor Ünlüer stated that the reasons behind the attack remained unknown.

„Four people were killed and 20 others were wounded when a middle school student opened fire at a school in Turkey's southeastern province of Kahramanmaras.” — Mükerrem Ünlüer via Reuters

Second school shooting in Turkey within 48 hours The Kahramanmaraş attack was the second school shooting in Turkey in two consecutive days, following an incident on Tuesday, April 14, at a technical high school in the Siverek district of Şanlıurfa province in southeastern Turkey. In that attack, a teenager armed with a shotgun wounded 16 people, including ten students and four teachers, before taking his own life, according to the Neue Zürcher Zeitung and Corriere della Sera. The Interior Ministry identified the Şanlıurfa attacker as a former student of the school. No fatalities were reported in the Şanlıurfa incident. The two attacks occurred in provinces located in the same southeastern region of Turkey.

20 (wounded) — Total injured in Kahramanmaraş school attack

Two school shootings in Turkey, April 2026: — ; —

Firearms rare in schools but tens of millions circulate illegally School shootings are described as very rare in Turkey, according to Reuters. Corriere della Sera reported that, according to estimates by a local foundation, tens of millions of firearms are in circulation in the country, the majority of them illegally. The Kahramanmaraş province, with a population of over one million, was also among the areas severely affected by the 2023 earthquakes that struck southeastern Turkey, according to the Wikipedia entry on the province. The back-to-back incidents prompted the deployment of senior government ministers to the affected regions. No official statement on broader security or policy measures in schools had been confirmed in the source articles at the time of publication.