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Global Affairs
Student Kills Four at Turkiye School, Second Attack in Two Days
Key Takeaways
- 1.Firearm storage rules for former police officers likely to face review
- 2.Two school shootings in 48 hours may prompt emergency legislative response
- 3.Four critically wounded students remain in surgery
April 16, 2026 · 1 min read · By Rishabh Bhardwaj
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AI-assisted, human-reviewed · Our editorial standards
An eighth-grade student opened fire across two classrooms at a middle school in Kahramanmaras, southeastern Turkiye on Wednesday, killing three students and one teacher and wounding at least 20 others before shooting himself. The attack is the country's second school shooting in two days. Governor Mukerrem Unluer confirmed the shooter, aged 13 or 14, entered fifth-grade classrooms carrying five weapons and seven magazines believed to belong to his father, a former police officer. Four of the wounded remained in critical condition and in surgery as of Wednesday. Justice Minister Akin Gurlek announced a formal investigation via X. The day prior, a former student opened fire at a school in Sanliurfa, wounding 16 people before killing himself. School shootings are described as very rare in Turkiye, making two incidents in 48 hours an acute policy pressure point. Authorities will face immediate scrutiny over how a teenager accessed a former officer's firearms, and whether existing controls on police-issued or formerly licensed weapons are sufficient. The investigation's scope and any legislative response to firearm storage rules are the near-term variables to track.
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