Shooting outside Turkish high school wounds at least 11

A 15-year-old student opened fire with a shotgun outside a vocational high school in Turgutlu, Turkey, wounding 11 people, including two seriously. The suspect was detained alongside his parents and grandfather, who owned the weapon. Authorities are investigating potential bullying as a motive. The incident has reignited public anxiety over school safety, following two deadly school shootings in April 2026 that led to government promises of tighter gun controls.

The shooting in Turgutlu

• ▪A 15-year-old student opened fire outside the Inci Uzmez Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School in Turgutlu, Manisa province, on September 22, 2026, wounding 11 people
• ▪A shooting in Turgutlu occurred around 8:00 a.m. local time on September 22, 2026, and left at least two of the injured victims in serious or critical condition

Investigation into the attack

• ▪Investigators probing the September 22, 2026, attack in Turgutlu detained the 15-year-old suspect's parents and grandfather on September 22, 2026
• ▪Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gurlek announced that authorities are investigating allegations of bullying prior to the shooting incident in Turgutlu on September 22, 2026

Previous school shootings in Turkey

• ▪Following the April 2026 shootings in Kahramanmaras and Sanliurfa provinces, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dismissed a deputy education minister and pledged tighter controls on gun ownership
• ▪In a separate April 2026 incident, a teenager opened fire at his former high school in Sanliurfa province, wounding 16 people before taking his own life
• ▪In April 2026, a 14-year-old opened fire at a school in Kahramanmaras province, killing a teacher and nine students before dying at the scene

The weapon and attack

• ▪A 15-year-old suspect fired the shotgun randomly near Inci Uzmez Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School in Turgutlu during the September 22, 2026, shooting before attempting to flee on foot
• ▪According to HaberTurk, a 15-year-old assailant carried out the September 22, 2026, attack in Turgutlu using a shotgun owned by his grandfather, taken from his grandmother's house

Aftermath at the school

• ▪Confrontations broke out between anxious parents and police officers who blocked the entrance to the Turgutlu school building following the shooting in Turgutlu on September 22, 2026
• ▪The Turkish education ministry suspended all lessons for the day at the Turgutlu school following the shooting in Turgutlu on September 22, 2026