A deadly school shooting in Onikişubat left multiple people dead and others injured after a 14-year-old student opened fire inside Ayser Çalık Secondary School on April 15, 2026, in what authorities described as the deadliest school shooting in Turkish history.
According to Turkish officials, the attack began at approximately 1:30 p.m. local time when the student allegedly entered the school carrying multiple firearms concealed in a backpack. Authorities said the shooter moved through classrooms and opened fire on students and staff before the incident ended.
Turkey’s Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi confirmed that at least nine people were initially killed, including students and a teacher, while more than a dozen others were injured. Later reports indicated the death toll rose after another victim succumbed to injuries in hospital.
Kahramanmaraş Governor Mükerrem Ünlüer stated that the suspect was an eighth-grade student and the child of a former police officer. Investigators believe the firearms used in the attack belonged to the suspect’s father. Officials reported that five handguns and multiple magazines were recovered.
Witness videos and local reports described scenes of panic as students attempted to escape classrooms and flee the building. Some students reportedly jumped from windows while emergency medical teams and police rushed to the school.
The shooting occurred just one day after another school shooting in Siverek, Turkey, where a former student wounded multiple people before dying by suicide. The back-to-back attacks sparked nationwide concern about school security and online threats targeting schools across Turkey.
Following the attack, Turkish authorities launched a major investigation involving prosecutors, police inspectors, and education officials. Schools in Kahramanmaraş were temporarily closed, and additional security measures were introduced nationwide.
