ANKARA, April 14 (Reuters) – A teenager opened fire at a high school in Turkey’s southeastern province of Sanliurfa on Tuesday, wounding at least 16 people, including students and teachers, before killing himself, Governor Hasan Sildak said.
The assailant, a 19-year-old former student, used a shotgun in the attack in the Siverek district. The wounded were taken to hospital, with five later transferred to facilities in Sanliurfa city centre for further treatment, Sildak said.
He later told broadcaster NTV that the attacker opened fire indiscriminately, starting in the school yard before entering the building. The shooter killed himself as police attempted to apprehend him, Sildak added.
Sildak said the attacker had no prior criminal record and that the school had previously been classified as safe by police.
The Interior Ministry said 10 of the wounded were students, four were teachers, one was a police officer and another a school canteen employee.
The condition of the wounded was not immediately known.
Video footage showed students fleeing the school as ambulances and police vehicles arrived at the scene.
(Reporting by Huseyin Hayatsever; Editing by Ece Toksabay and Sharon Singleton)
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