Student wounds eight girls in Istanbul school knife attack

ISTANBUL – A teenage girl wounded eight girls at a middle school in Istanbul on Oct 6, as she reportedly stabbed pupils indiscriminately with a knife, officials said.

The incident occurred at around 8.40am local time, at a school in Basaksehir in the north-western part of the city.

The alleged attacker, said to be a 15-year-old 10th-grade student from another school, has been detained by police.

Writing on social media platform X, Health Minister Kemal Memisoglu said there were “eight people injured in the incident – one in critical condition, and two in moderate-to-serious condition”, who were being treated in hospital.

Speaking to reporters, Istanbul Governor Davut Gul said the attacker, who was wearing a school uniform, had stabbed the pupils “indiscriminately”.

“Five of the pupils sustained minor injuries; they are likely to be discharged later today. Two are in serious condition. One is currently undergoing surgery,” he said.

“The student who carried out the attack lives in the same neighbourhood and attends a different school. She entered the premises wearing a school uniform and stabbed the children indiscriminately.”

Basaksehir District Governor Cemil Ozgur Onegi, who gave an injured toll of seven, said the attack was carried out by a high school student.

“Seven female students were injured as a result of a knife attack carried out by F.M., a 10th-grade student” from a high school in another district.

In September, a teenager opened fire outside a school in western Turkey, wounding 11 pupils, three of whom were seriously hurt, before being arrested.

In April, there were two back-to-back shooting attacks by teenagers on consecutive days in southern Turkey that shocked the nation and sparked public concerns about security in Turkish schools. AFP