A 14-year-old armed with five guns opened fire at a Turkish school on Wednesday, killing nine people, wounding 13 and sparking scenes of mayhem as students jumped out of windows to escape.

The attack in the southern province of Kahramanmaras province was Türkiye's second such incident in as many days, shocking a country where school shootings are a rare occurrence.

Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci confirmed nine deaths, with 13 wounded – six in intensive care, three of them in a critical condition.

The minister described the attacker as an "eighth grade student aged 14".

"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," Kahramanmaras province governor Mukerrem Unluer told reporters earlier in the day.

Dramatic video footage filmed by a resident of a nearby building shows students jumping from a first-floor window of the school to escape the gunfire, while dozens of others flee through the courtyard.

About 15 gunshots can be heard in the one-and-a-half-minute video.

Unluer said the attacker was the son of a former police officer, armed with five guns and seven magazines. He died during the incident.

"He shot himself. It is not yet clear whether this was suicide or happened amid the chaos," he said.

Police detained the shooter's father, Ugur Mersinli, the official Anadolu news agency reported.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: "In this tragic attack, we unfortunately lost our bright young children and a devoted educator."

He said the incident would be "thoroughly clarified in all its aspects" in a message on X, while warning that the pain from this attack should "not be politicised".

School shootings in Türkiye had been rare until this week. In May 2024, a former student killed a private high school principal in Istanbul with a firearm five months after he was expelled.

Türkiye has strict gun laws that require licensing, registration, mental and criminal background checks, and severe penalties for illegal possession. (AFP)



Edited by Azam Khan