Student opens fire outside school in Turkey, 11 pupils wounded


ANKARA, Sept 22 (Reuters) - A student ⁠opened fire in front of their high school in Turkey's ⁠western province of Manisa early on Tuesday, wounding at least 11 ‌other pupils, Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said.

Two of the wounded were in a critical condition, Gurlek said. The assailant was caught and their mother, father, and grandfather — who owned ​the weapon used in the attack — have been ⁠detained, the minister added.

"When the ⁠security of our children is the issue, it is not possible for any ⁠negligence, ‌any irresponsibility to be overlooked," the minister said on X.

"The circumstances under which the child obtained the gun used in the ⁠attack, the conditions of the weapon's storage, the parents' ​obligations regarding care ‌and supervision, and allegations of bullying prior to the incident are ⁠being investigated thoroughly ​and from multiple angles," Gurlek added.

Images and video posted online showed a male figure walking on a street near the school with a rifle in his ⁠hands. He was then seen running back ​from the same street.

Video outside the school showed police pushing away families and others outside the premises.

The motive for the attack was not immediately clear.

The local ⁠governor's office has said the attack took place at around 8:00 a.m. (0500 GMT) at the Inci Uzmez Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School in the Turgutlu district.

Two deadly school shootings in April caused outrage in Turkey and ​prompted officials to bring in new security measures ⁠for the 2026-2027 academic year, including tighter gun controls.

Before then, the country had ​not had a history of such attacks.

Vice ‌President Cevdet Yilmaz said Interior Minister Mustafa ​Ciftci and Education Minister Yusuf Tekin were going to Manisa to carry out inspections.

(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

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