School shooting in Turkey: Death toll rises to 9, including 8 children

Nine people, including eight children, were killed in a shooting at a middle school in southeastern Turkey on Wednesday, Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci said, adding 13 others were wounded with six in critical condition.

Speaking to reporters in a televised press conference in Kahramanmaras province where the incident took place, Ciftci said the attack was a "personal" incident.

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The incident took place earlier on Wednesday when a student opened fire at random in a Turkish school, just one day after a shooter wounded 16 people and then killed himself in another school.

Kahramanmaras province governor Mukerrem Unluer said a teacher and three students were killed in the latest attack.

"A student came to school with guns that we believe belonged to his father in his backpack. He entered two classrooms and opened fire randomly, causing injuries and deaths," Unluer told reporters.

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Footage released by IHA private news agency showed a person, body and face covered, being evacuated in an ambulance, as well as tearful parents who had rushed to the school in the southern province's main city, Kahramanmaras.

Witnesses quoted by media said intense gunfire was heard.

Police have increased security around the building, and television footage showed ambulances present in the area.

Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said prosecutors had launched an immediate investigation into the shooting.

On Tuesday, an ex-student opened fire with a shotgun at his former high school in Siverek district of Sanliurfa province, wounding 16 people before killing himself in a showdown with police. At least 10 students and one teacher were among the casualties.

School shootings in Turkey are rare. In May 2024, a former student killed a private high school principal in Istanbul with a firearm five months after he was expelled.

(With inputs from Reuters0