Two Killed in Shooting at Vocational School in Türkiye’s Urfa Province
A former student killed a teacher and injured 15 others before taking his own life.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - An armed assailant opened fire at a vocational high school in the Siverek district of Urfa on Tuesday morning, killing a teacher and wounding more than 15 others before taking his own life.
The attack, which took place at the Ahmed Koyuncu Vocational and Technical High School in the Hassan Celebi neighborhood, resulted in two fatalities including the gunman, according to local officials.
The Kurdistan24 correspondent in the region reported that the shooter entered the school premises during the morning hours of Tuesday, carrying a long-barreled weapon.
Once inside, the individual reportedly began firing randomly throughout the school's corridors and courtyard, causing widespread panic among the students and faculty. One teacher sustained severe wounds during the assault and later died from those injuries, officials confirmed.
Hasan Shildak, the Governor of Urfa, Türkiye, identified the attacker in a press statement as Omar Kat, an individual born in 2007.
Governor Shildak noted that Kat was a former student of the institution, having completed his ninth-grade studies there before transitioning to an open education program. Following the shooting, the assailant turned the weapon on himself and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Immediately following the incident, emergency medical teams, police, and special operations forces arrived to secure the premises and provide medical attention to the victims.
More than 15 people were reported injured in the attack, though the severity of their conditions has not been detailed. Security forces cordoned off the school and the surrounding neighborhood as forensic teams began their investigation.
The motivation behind the attack remains under investigation by local authorities.
The Ahmed Koyuncu Vocational and Technical High School is currently secured by special operations forces while the Urfa Governor’s office coordinates the emergency response and legal procedures following the event.