A mass shooting outside a vocational high school in western Turkey has left at least 11 people injured, sending shockwaves through the country’s educational community and sparking renewed concerns over public safety at educational institutions. The violent incident unfolded shortly after 8 a.m. local time on Tuesday, around 5 a.m. GMT, on the grounds adjacent to Inci Uzmez Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School, located in Turkey’s Manisa Province.
According to official statements from the local governor’s office, the attacker opened fire on civilians near the school entrance before fleeing the scene. Law enforcement units launched an immediate manhunt and have since taken the suspect into custody. As of Tuesday afternoon, local medical sources confirmed that two of the 11 injured victims remain in critical condition after being transported to nearby hospitals for emergency treatment.
Multiple security camera clips circulating on social media appear to corroborate details of the incident: one video shows a male individual carrying a firearm on a public street within steps of the school campus, while another shows the same person running from the scene still holding the weapon.
Turkish media outlets have cited unnamed local sources identifying the suspect as a 15-year-old student enrolled at the school, but this detail has not yet been verified or confirmed by official authorities. Investigators have not yet released any definitive information about the potential motive behind the attack, with probe work still ongoing in the hours after the incident.
Turkey’s Ministry of National Education released an official statement responding to the tragedy, saying the attack had “deeply saddened our nation, and our educational community in particular.” In response to the incident, the ministry announced it had deployed a team of three senior national investigators to Manisa to coordinate with local law enforcement and assist with the ongoing investigation into the shooting.