Turkey has been rocked by two fatal school shootings that unfolded within 24 hours this week, leaving at least nine people dead and dozens more injured, prompting a sweeping national crackdown on harmful online content linked to the attacks.
The deadliest of the two attacks took place on Wednesday at Ayser Calik Secondary School in the southern Turkish province of Kahramanmaras. According to official statements from local authorities, eight students and one teacher lost their lives in the violence, while 13 other people were wounded, six of whom remain in critical condition. The attacker, a 14-year-old student at the school, was also killed during the response to the incident.
Investigators have confirmed that the shooting was not a spontaneous act of violence. Prosecutors overseeing the case revealed that a premeditated plan was recovered during a forensic examination of the suspect’s digital devices. A document dated April 11, 2026, found on the teen’s computer explicitly outlined his intention to carry out a ‘major operation’ in the near future. Police also confirmed that the suspect had used an image referencing Elliot Rodger — the 22-year-old American perpetrator of a 2014 mass shooting in California that left six dead — as his profile photo on the messaging app WhatsApp.
Local media reports add that the teen carried five firearms and seven ammunition magazines into the school, opening fire inside two separate classrooms. As of Thursday, funeral services were underway for victims at Kahramanmaras’s main central mosque, with senior Turkish government ministers scheduled to attend the ceremonies to honor the lives lost. Family members of victims have described the chaos and grief that followed the attack: one victim’s aunt told the BBC she learned her 10-year-old niece had been killed only after the child’s name was read out in rolling news coverage.
The Kahramanmaras attack came just one day after a separate school shooting in the country’s southeast. On Tuesday, an ex-student in his late teens opened fire at Ahmet Koyuncu Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School in the Siverek district, injuring 16 people. Local governor Hasan Şildak reported that the attacker fired a shotgun indiscriminately before taking his own life at the scene.
In the wake of the two back-to-back tragedies, Turkish law enforcement has launched a major crackdown on social media content deemed harmful or inciting violence. Police confirmed this week that arrest warrants have been issued for 83 people accused of posting controversial and dangerous content online that praises the shootings and the attackers. Authorities say the posts ‘engaged in praising crime and criminals and negatively affecting public order.’ As part of the operation, access to 940 social media accounts has been blocked and 93 Telegram groups linked to the problematic content have been permanently taken down.