School Shootings Bring New Trauma to Turkey as Nation Mourns

In the southeastern region of Turkey, a dozen men hurried to carry a coffin from the morgue, but its light weight betrayed the tragic loss of a 10-year-old boy. His father followed, supported by relatives, yet burdened by sorrow. “Oh, my martyred child,” he cried, “oh my darling,” as the boy’s fate marked the first deadly school shooting in the nation’s history. The incident in Kahramanmaras left eight children and a teacher dead, all victims of a fellow student, 14, who acted in a surge of violence.

The city, once celebrated for its ice cream, now bears a grim reputation. Coffins, each adorned with the Turkish flag, were carried out one by one, drawing crowds of mourners and emergency staff. A woman’s voice rose in frustration toward waiting police. “Too late, too late,” she accused, “you didn’t save the children.” Another shouted for the killer to be hanged in the central square, though he had already died at the scene.

“She became an angel, and she flew away,” said Mahmut, the boy’s uncle, his voice shaking. “My only wish is to have more security at the schools, so this does not happen again.”

Earlier that week, a similar tragedy struck nearby, where a former student wounded 16 people before taking his own life. “Two attacks in a very short time, both in cities with lower incomes,” noted Prof Asli Carkoglu, a teen psychology specialist. “These things do have a way of spreading.” She warned that the Kahramanmaras shooting might inspire “young minds frustrated enough” to emulate the violence.

The killer’s motive was hinted at through social media posts, where he referenced an American shooter, Elliot Rodgers, who killed six students in California in 2014. An entry on his computer, dated 11 April, predicted a major attack “in the near future.” He accessed weapons easily, retrieving them from his father’s bedroom—a former police officer now in custody.

Authorities have taken swift action, detaining around 150 individuals for social media posts about the killings, accusing them of spreading misinformation or glorifying crime. Over 1,000 accounts and Telegram groups have been blocked. Despite these measures, no link to terrorist groups has been found. The killer acted alone, according to police.

At the school gates, now locked and patrolled by officers, teachers placed flowers near the spot where children should have been safe. The event has left the community reeling, with a new sense of vulnerability gripping the nation as it grapples with the sudden shift in its collective memory.