11 students injured in Turkey School shooting

September 23 2026

At least 11 students were injured after a teenager allegedly opened fire outside a vocational and technical high school in western Turkey, prompting a major police response and a new investigation into school security.

The shooting occurred at approximately 8:00 a.m. local time on Tuesday, September 22, outside İnci Üzmez Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School in Turgutlu, in Manisa province near the western city of Izmir. Turkish authorities said the suspect was quickly apprehended and taken into custody.

Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said 11 students were wounded, with two initially reported to be in critical condition. Later reporting from Associated Press indicated that three of the wounded were receiving intensive care, underscoring that casualty conditions were still developing as authorities investigated the incident.

Turkish media reported that the suspect was a 15-year-old student at the school. Authorities are investigating how the firearm came into the teenager’s possession and how it had been stored. The suspect’s parents and grandfather were also detained as part of the investigation, with officials identifying the grandfather as the owner of the weapon.

Authorities have not established a definitive motive. Investigators are examining, among other issues, allegations that the student may have experienced bullying before the shooting. Two chief prosecutors were assigned to oversee the investigation.

Classes at the school were suspended for the day, while education authorities deployed psychosocial support teams for students, teachers and parents affected by the incident.

The incident comes months after two school shootings in Turkey in April that prompted renewed concerns over security at educational institutions.

In one April attack in Şanlıurfa province, 16 people, mostly students, were wounded after a former student opened fire at a high school. In a separate attack the following day in Kahramanmaraş province, a 14-year-old opened fire at his school, killing a teacher and nine students and injuring 13 others.

Those attacks prompted Turkish authorities to introduce additional school-security measures for the 2026–2027 academic year. Officials said measures included increased police presence, school security assessments and the deployment of approximately 31,000 school grounds supervisors.

The latest shooting is now under investigation, with authorities examining the circumstances surrounding the weapon, the suspect’s actions and any factors that may have preceded the attack.