ع
The governor’s office in Manisa province reported gunfire at the Inci Uzmez Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School in the Turgutlu district shortly before 08:00 local time on Tuesday. NTV broadcaster placed the number of wounded at eight pupils with two in critical condition while other accounts from the scene indicated a total of at least 11 injured in the shooting at Turkish high school. The 15-year-old assailant was detained by police after images circulated online showing a young male carrying a rifle near the premises, according to the regional governor’s office statement on X.
Local officials said emergency services responded quickly with ambulances and police units securing the area as students were evacuated from the building. Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz announced that Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci and Education Minister Yusuf Tekin would travel to Manisa to conduct on-site inspections and review security protocols at the facility. The motive for the attack remained unclear as investigators began examining the circumstances surrounding the shooting, the governor’s office added.
Reuters reported that the incident follows two deadly school shootings in April 2026 which together left at least 19 people dead and more than 30 injured across two southern provinces. In the first of those attacks on April 14 a former student wounded 16 people at a vocational school in Siverek before killing himself, according to Sanliurfa Governor Hasan Sildak. The following day a 14-year-old student killed nine at a secondary school in Kahramanmaras and wounded 13 others using weapons belonging to his father, Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci stated at the time.
Those April incidents prompted widespread public outrage and led Turkish authorities to introduce tighter gun controls and enhanced security measures for the 2026-2027 academic year across the country, a Reuters assessment found. The measures included stricter screening at school entrances and revised protocols for handling threats reported on social media platforms. Officials had previously described school shootings as rare in Turkey prior to the spring events, according to multiple government statements issued after the April attacks.
A compilation maintained by Wikipedia drawing on Turkish media and official releases documented 61 school attacks nationwide before September resulting in 55 deaths and 152 injuries overall. The Turgutlu case marks the latest in a series of incidents that have placed renewed focus on campus safety and access to firearms in educational settings. Health authorities have not yet released detailed updates on the conditions of those transferred to area hospitals for treatment following Tuesday’s shooting.
The education ministry has instructed all nearby schools to review their emergency response plans in light of the event while police increased patrols in the Turgutlu area. No further details on the detained student’s background or any prior warnings have been disclosed by investigators so far. The prosecutor’s office confirmed it had opened a full inquiry into the shooting and any potential lapses in local security arrangements.
