A former police inspector has been detained after his 14-year-old son allegedly used his service weapons to massacre eight children and their teacher in a rampage that has shattered Turkey’s reputation for relative safety from school shootings.
Authorities arrested the father following Wednesday’s attack at a middle school in Kahramanmaraş, southern Turkey, where Isa Aras Mersinli concealed firearms in a backpack before targeting two separate classrooms in what officials characterised as an “indiscriminate” assault.
Disturbing footage emerged showing the teenager pacing a classroom hours before the killings, holding his hands beneath his chin in a gun-shaped pose whilst marching in circles. The video, reportedly captured by a fellow student, has sent shockwaves through the nation as investigators examine whether warning signs were missed.
Teacher Ayla Kara, 55, died alongside eight pupils aged 10 and 11: Mustafa Aslan, Şuranur Sevgi Kazıcı, Zeynep Kılınç, Furkan Sancak Balal, Bayram Nabi Şişik, Belinay Nur Poyraz, Adnan Göktürk Yeşil and Kerem Erdem Güngör. At least 20 others sustained injuries, with six remaining critical on Thursday as the city prepared funerals.
A surviving student told local media the shooter had threatened a classmate minutes before opening fire, stating: “I will kill you.”
Police disclosed that Mersinli had displayed an image of Elliot Rodger—the American killer who murdered six people at a California university campus in 2014—as his WhatsApp profile picture. Rodger had described his attack as “punishment” for romantic rejection before committing suicide.
“Initial findings from the investigation revealed that the perpetrator used an image on his WhatsApp profile referencing Elliot Rodger,” authorities confirmed, adding that digital materials seized from the family home and the father’s vehicle were undergoing forensic examination. Officials insisted no terrorism connections had been established.
Approximately 15 gunshots rang out during the 90-second rampage, with viral footage showing panicked children leaping from second-storey windows whilst hundreds of residents frantically cleared paths for emergency vehicles.
Turkish police subsequently issued arrest warrants for 83 individuals accused of posting social media content “praising crime and criminals” following two school shootings within 24 hours. Tuesday’s separate incident saw 16 injured when a former student attacked a southeastern high school with a pump-action shotgun.
Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi described Wednesday’s massacre as “personal” in motivation, though the exact trigger remains under investigation.
Teacher unions organised immediate protests outside Ankara’s education ministry, demanding enhanced security measures whilst carrying banners declaring: “We will not surrender our schools to violence.” A two-day strike was announced as schools across Kahramanmaraş remained closed.
