Former student kills himself after wounding 16 in Turkey school shooting

A former student opened fire at Ahmet Koyuncu Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School in Siverek, in Turkey’s southeastern Şanlıurfa province, wounding at least 16 people before killing himself after police cornered him inside the building. The attack sent students fleeing in panic as ambulances lined the street outside the school and special security forces rushed in.

Governor Hasan Şıldak identified the attacker as an 18-year-old born in 2007, while Reuters reported him as 19. Authorities said he fired randomly inside the school with a shotgun or rifle, depending on early reports, before retreating farther into the building as officers moved to capture him. Officials said he died by suicide during the police operation.

The wounded included students and teachers, underscoring how quickly a school shooting can tear through a classroom community. Early accounts said 10 students, four teachers, a canteen employee and a police officer were among those hurt. Reuters reported that 12 of the wounded remained hospitalized, as doctors treated injuries spread across several victims from the same attack.

Şıldak said a comprehensive investigation was under way to determine the motive, which remained unknown. Turkish security forces evacuated students and secured the campus after the shooting, while television footage showed frightened teenagers running from the building and emergency crews working outside. School shootings are rare in Turkey, which has intensified the shock in Siverek and raised questions about how warning signs are identified, how campuses are protected and whether schools have enough safeguards to stop a troubled former student from turning a classroom into a crime scene.