What is it?

The 2026 Onikişubat School Shooting was a mass shooting that occurred on 15 April 2026 at Ayser Çalık Secondary School in the Onikişubat district of Kahramanmaraş Province, Turkey. The perpetrator, 14-year-old İsa Aras Mersinli, a student at the school, killed 12 people and injured 20 others before dying from a knife wound sustained while trying to flee. It is the deadliest school shooting in Turkish history.

The attack took place around 1:30 p.m. local time. Mersinli entered the school with a backpack containing five 9mm pistols and seven magazines, which he had taken from his father, a police officer. He first opened fire in one classroom, then moved to a second, targeting students and a teacher. Many students escaped by jumping out of windows, resulting in additional injuries.

The shooting occurred just one day after another school attack in Siverek, Şanlıurfa, where a 19-year-old injured 16 people before committing suicide. This cluster of violence shocked the nation and sparked widespread debate about school safety and gun control in Turkey.

Emergency services responded quickly, transporting the injured to nearby hospitals. Schools in Kahramanmaraş were closed for two days. The government imposed a broadcast ban on the shooting to protect the investigation, and seven prosecutors were assigned to the case.

Key Facts

Date: 15 April 2026
Location: Ayser Çalık Secondary School, Onikişubat, Kahramanmaraş, Turkey
Perpetrator: İsa Aras Mersinli, 14-year-old 8th-grade student
Weapons: Five 9mm pistols and seven magazines, taken from his father (a police officer)
Deaths: 12 (11 students and 1 teacher) plus the perpetrator
Injuries: 20 (13 at the school, 7 while escaping)
Deadliest school shooting in Turkish history
Occurred one day after the Siverek school shooting
Perpetrator died from hypovolemic shock after a knife wound to the leg
Teacher Ayla Kara died shielding students with her body
Perpetrator's father was a police officer; parents were detained for questioning
Motive under investigation; incel ideology suspected due to perpetrator's online activity

Full Explanation

The Attack

At approximately 1:30 p.m. on 15 April 2026, İsa Aras Mersinli entered Ayser Çalık Secondary School carrying a backpack containing five 9mm pistols and seven loaded magazines. He first entered a classroom—reportedly a mathematics class—and opened fire on the occupants. He then moved to a second classroom and continued shooting. Students and teachers scrambled to escape; many jumped from windows, suffering fractures and other injuries.

Necmettin Bekçi, a parent of two students at the school, entered the building to intervene. He found two staff members already trying to restrain the perpetrator in a stairwell. When Mersinli broke free, Bekçi slashed his leg with a knife, inadvertently severing his femoral artery. The perpetrator died at the scene from hypovolemic shock. An autopsy later confirmed the cause of death.

Victims

Among the 12 fatalities was Ayla Kara, a 55-year-old mathematics teacher who shielded her students with her body. She was hailed as a hero. The other victims were 11-year-old students: Şuranur Sevgi Kazıcı, Belinur Nur Boyraz, Kerem Erdem Güngör, Furkan Sancak Balal, Yusuf Tarık Gül, Bayram Nabi Şişik, Yılmaz Efe Konar, Zeynep Kılıç, Kağan Güngör, Adnan Göktürk Yeşil, and Almina Ağaoğlu. One student died after 18 days in hospital. Thirteen people were injured at the school, and seven more were hurt while escaping, five critically. Eleven were discharged after treatment.

Yusuf Tarık Gül's father, a former police officer dismissed after the 2016 coup attempt purges, had spent six years in prison. Yusuf was killed only six months after his father's release. No government officials attended Yusuf's funeral, reportedly due to his father's background, drawing criticism from human rights groups and opposition MPs.

Perpetrator

İsa Aras Mersinli was a 14-year-old 8th-grade student at the school. His father, Uğur Mersinli, was a 1st Degree Police Chief. The weapons used belonged to the father, who claimed they were locked in a chest. However, videos and photos showed the perpetrator loading magazines and posing with guns, contradicting that claim. The father had taken his child to a police shooting range two days before the attack.

Investigations revealed that two psychologists had recommended psychiatric support for Mersinli, but the parents did not follow through. The perpetrator's WhatsApp profile picture featured American mass murderer Elliot Rodger, suggesting an incel-motivated attack. Mersinli reportedly used she/her pronouns at times and liked cross-dressing on camera. The motive remains under investigation, but terrorism has been ruled out.

History

School shootings are rare in Turkey. The country has strict gun laws requiring licensing, registration, psychiatric evaluations, and background checks. Despite this, the number of individual gun owners has increased in recent years. Prior to the Onikişubat shooting, the most notable school shooting was the 2018 Eskişehir University shooting, which injured four people.

The day before the Onikişubat attack, a 19-year-old opened fire at a vocational high school in Siverek, Şanlıurfa, injuring 16 people before committing suicide. This incident prompted teachers' unions to call for a nationwide one-day work stoppage on 15 April to protest inadequate school security. On the same day as the Onikişubat shooting, a teenager fired shots outside a high school in Şahinbey, Gaziantep, though no one was injured. A student in Tarsus, Mersin, was caught with a handgun at school, and a stabbing occurred in Keçiören, Ankara.

On 17 April 2026, a parent attempted to attack a teacher with a knife at Dumlupınar Secondary School in Şanlıurfa, but police officers subdued the attacker. This spate of violence highlighted growing concerns about school safety and the mental health of young people in Turkey.

The Onikişubat shooting became the deadliest school shooting in Turkish history, surpassing the 2018 Eskişehir incident. It sparked national mourning and renewed calls for stricter gun control and better mental health support for students.

Why it matters

The 2026 Onikişubat School Shooting is a tragic milestone in Turkish history, underscoring the vulnerability of schools to mass violence. It exposed gaps in gun safety, as the perpetrator accessed his father's service weapons despite legal safeguards. The failure of parents to act on psychiatric recommendations also raised questions about mental health support for adolescents.

The attack occurred amid a cluster of school-related violence in Turkey, prompting widespread protests by teachers' unions and demands for improved security measures. The government's response included a broadcast ban and a large investigation, but critics argued that more preventive action was needed.

Internationally, the shooting drew comparisons to other school shootings and highlighted the global issue of youth radicalization through online incel communities. The perpetrator's admiration for Elliot Rodger pointed to the influence of extremist ideologies. The event serves as a somber reminder of the need for comprehensive strategies to protect students and address the root causes of such violence.