School Shooting in Turkey Leaves 10 Dead, Including Teacher and Students

The death toll from a school shooting in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, on Wednesday rose to 10 on Thursday after another victim died in the hospital. The incident has shocked a nation where such events are rare.

Details of the Attack

The assailant, identified as 14-year-old Isa Aras Mersinli, opened fire in two classrooms at a middle school.

The gunman used five firearms and seven magazines belonging to his father, a retired police superintendent. The father was arrested after the attack.

The victims included a 55-year-old math teacher and eight students, all aged 11. Thirteen other people were wounded, with six reported to be in critical condition prior to the latest death. The gunman was also killed.

A Week of Violence in Schools

This incident occurred one day after a separate school shooting in Sanliurfa province on Tuesday, where 16 people were wounded. The assailant in that incident later killed himself.

As of Thursday, 20 people had been detained in connection with the Tuesday shooting in Sanliurfa. Turkish authorities noted that school shootings have been rare in the country until this week.

Official Response and Investigation

In response to the crisis, the Interior and Education Ministries held a joint school security meeting in Ankara on Thursday, attended by ministers, all 81 provincial governors, police chiefs, and education directors.

The Ministry of Family and Social Services announced it had established a team to provide psychosocial support to affected students and families and plans a comprehensive investigation into similar incidents.

Turkey's national police reported that the suspect's profile picture on WhatsApp was a photo of Elliot Rodger, who killed six people in California in 2014.

Justice Minister Akin Gurlek announced that 67 social media users were detained over posts targeting 54 different schools.

Aftermath and Mourning

Funerals were held Thursday afternoon for the eight students and the teacher killed in Wednesday's attack.

Hundreds of educators gathered in Ankara and Izmir to demand increased school security.

Cevdet Yesil, father of victim Adnan Gokturk Yesil, described searching for his son after the shooting and later identifying his remains at the hospital.