Student Gunman Slaughters 9 in Second School Shooting in Just 2 Days

Turkey was rocked by yet another school massacre on Wednesday after a 14-year-old student opened fire inside a middle school, killing nine people and leaving 13 others wounded in what authorities say was the nation’s second school shooting in just two days.

The bloodshed unfolded at a school in Kahramanmaras, where terrified students and staff were suddenly thrown into chaos when the teenage gunman opened fire on two classrooms. According to Turkish Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci, nine people were killed in the attack, while 13 others were injured. Six of the wounded were said to be in serious condition.

Officials said the shooter was also killed, though authorities have not yet made clear whether he died by suicide or was taken down by police. Kahramanmaras provincial Gov. Mukerrem Unluer said the teen arrived at the school carrying five firearms and seven magazines. The weapons are believed to have belonged to his father, a retired police officer.

The motive behind the slaughter remains unknown, adding even more fear and confusion to a nation now reeling from back-to-back school shootings.

The attack came just one day after another shooting at a high school in nearby Sanliurfa province left 16 people wounded, most of them students. In that case, authorities said a former student opened fire before later killing himself.

Until this week, school shootings had been considered rare in Turkey, making the back-to-back attacks all the more shocking. The sudden outbreak of violence has raised serious questions about security, access to firearms, and what may be fueling such deadly acts among young attackers.

State-run broadcaster TRT identified the latest gunman as Isa Aras Mersinli and reported that his father was detained for questioning. Authorities have also moved quickly to control public exposure to the violence, imposing a ban on the broadcast of what they described as “traumatic” images from the scene and warning media outlets to stick to official statements.

As news of the shooting spread, frantic parents rushed to the school in Kahramanmaras’ Onikisubat district, desperate for answers and terrified for their children. What they arrived to find was another national nightmare, one that has left families shattered and a country searching for answers after two school shootings in two days.