Turkey school shooting wounds 16, attacker dead

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 the 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 motive for the attack remains unclear. School shootings are rare in Turkey.

The Interior Ministry said 10 of the wounded were students, four were teachers, one was a police officer, and another was a school canteen employee.

The condition of the wounded was not immediately known.

Television and video footage showed ambulances standing by outside the school in the Siverek district and police vehicles arriving 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.

Earlier, media reports said all students were evacuated, and police special operations units were deployed after the assailant refused to surrender.

"The individual was cornered inside the building through police intervention and died after shooting himself," Sildak told reporters, adding that a "comprehensive" investigation into the shooting would be carried out.