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Eleven students were wounded, two of them critically, after an unidentified attacker opened fire on a street outside a vocational high school in Türkiye's western Manisa province on Tuesday, Justice Minister Akin Gurlek announced, adding that the shooter, a minor, has been detained along with his parents and grandfather.
The attack occurred around 8 a.m. on a street in the Albayrak neighborhood of Turgutlu district, where students were walking to the Inci Uzmez Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School, according to initial reports.
A suspect opened fire indiscriminately outside the school for reasons that remained unclear at the time, prompting an emergency call to Türkiye's 112 emergency response center reporting injured students.
Numerous police and medical teams were dispatched to the scene.
A call was placed to the 112 Emergency Call Center reporting that students had been injured in the attack.
Following the emergency call, a large number of police and medical teams were dispatched to the scene.
News of the attack caused panic, with the report of a gunman firing at the school prompting a large crowd to gather outside.
Parents rushed to the school seeking to reach their children, leading to scuffles between the crowd and law enforcement officers who had put security measures in place around the school perimeter.
Police reportedly had difficulty calming anxious parents as security around the school was increased.
"An armed shooting incident has been reported in an area near our Turgutlu district's Inci Uzmez Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School. Upon the report, police and medical teams have been dispatched to the scene, and our teams' investigations regarding the incident are ongoing. Further information about the developments will be provided to the public," the Governorship of Manisa said in a statement on X.
Ambulances took the injured to Turgutlu State Hospital.
"On September 22, 2026, at approximately 07:59, a report was received regarding gunfire in an area near our district's Inci Uzmez Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School in Turgutlu," the Governorship of Manisa said in a separate statement on X.
"Upon receiving the report, a large number of police and medical teams were dispatched to the scene. According to initial findings related to the incident, it has been learned that 8 people were affected," the governorship said, adding, "The injured have been transported to the nearest medical facility. Following the incident, the suspect individual believed to have fired the weapon has been apprehended and taken into custody by our security forces."
"A judicial and administrative investigation into the incident has been initiated, and developments will be shared with the public separately," the statement noted.
"No negligence threatening our children's safety will go unanswered! The armed attack that occurred outside the school building, on the street our students use to walk to school, in Turgutlu district of Manisa, wounding 11 of our students, two of them seriously, has deeply saddened all of us," Gurlek wrote on X.
"We wish our wounded children a speedy recovery, and extend our condolences to their families, friends and the education community," he added.
Gurlek said the Turgutlu Chief Public Prosecutor's Office launched a comprehensive investigation immediately after the attack, with two prosecutors assigned under the chief prosecutor's coordination.
"The child who carried out the attack was apprehended and taken into custody within a short time, in the course of the juvenile justice process," Gurlek said, adding: "When it comes to our children's safety, no negligence, no irresponsibility can be ignored."
Türkiye's National Education Ministry said in a written statement that education activities at Inci Uzmez Vocational and Technical Anadolu High School had been suspended for the day.
The ministry said the incident, which occurred near the school in the morning hours, had "deeply saddened" the education community and the nation as a whole.
The ministry said security forces and medical personnel, along with all relevant state units, had gone on alert from the first moments of the attack, and that a comprehensive investigation had been launched.
"In addition to the investigative processes being carried out by our Manisa provincial inspectors regarding this incident, three ministry inspectors have also been assigned to examine the incident in all its aspects and have been immediately dispatched to Manisa province," the ministry said.
The ministry said psychosocial support teams had already begun rehabilitation work in the field for students, teachers and parents affected by the incident.
"Our relevant units are acting in a coordinated and determined manner to ensure the investigation into the incident is carried out meticulously. We wish a speedy recovery to our wounded, who have been taken to hospitals and whose treatment is ongoing, and extend our condolences to their families and our educational community," the ministry said.
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