Student kills nine in Turkey’s second school shooting in two days

A 14-year-old student shot at least nine people dead ‌including eight of his fellow pupils and wounded 13 others at a middle school in southeastern Turkey on Wednesday, officials said, in the country’s second school shooting in two days.

Eight students and one ​teacher died in the attack in the province of Kahramanmaras, Turkey’s Interior Minister ​Mustafa Ciftci told reporters, adding that six of the wounded were ⁠in critical condition.

Earlier, Kahramanmaras Governor Mukerrem Unluer had said ​the shooter had shot and killed himself in the commotion.

“An eighth-grade student came with 5 weapons and 7 magazines – which we believe belong to his former police officer father – in his bag, entered ​two classrooms with fifth grade students, causing deaths and injuries indiscriminately,” Unluer said.

Fifth-grade students ​are usually aged 10 and 11 in Turkey.

School shootings are very rare in Turkey. Asked by reporters ‌if ⁠authorities would take any measures after the shootings this week, Ciftci said: “We will take necessary precautions”, without elaborating.

Gun laws are generally strict in Turkey, with only individuals aged over 21 and in possession of a license ​allowed to own weapons. ​However, guns are ⁠widespread in Turkey, with many security officers allowed to carry and own arms.

Unverified footage showed several students jumping from a second-storey window ​at the school as gunshots echoed around the grounds. Unverified ​CCTV footage ⁠from the school showed the attacker shooting two students walking down a hallway.

Turkish media footage from the school grounds on Wednesday showed ambulances arriving at the school where police and crowds ⁠had ​gathered by the gate.

On Tuesday, a former student opened fire ​at a school in the southeastern province of Sanliurfa, wounding at least 16 people, including students and teachers, ​before killing himself.