Turkey school shooting wounds 16, attacker dead

Istanbul: An ex-student opened fire at his former high school Tuesday in Turkey, where school shootings are rare, wounding 16 people including students before killing himself, officials said.

Special security forces were deployed to the school in southeastern Turkey's Sanliurfa province, where students were evacuated, the local governor, Hasan Sildak, told reporters.

Television footage showed ambulances standing by outside the school in the Siverek district as students fled the building in panic.


Sildak identified the attacker as a former student at the school, born in 2007.

"He took his own life when cornered by police," the governor said.

"We have evacuated the school and will carry out a thorough investigation into this tragic incident," he added.

Local media reported that most of the wounded were students.