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Erdogan promises tighter gun controls after deadly Turkey school attacks

By Thomson Reuters Apr 20, 2026 | 11:59 AM

ANKARA, April 20 (Reuters) – Turkey will tighten gun-ownership rules ​and increase penalties ‌for owners whose children find the firearms, President Tayyip Erdogan ‌said ​on Monday ⁠after last ⁠week’s rare, deadly school shootings.

The second of the two separate ​attacks by students last week ⁠killed eight ⁠pupils and a ​teacher in a ​southeastern province of Kahramanmaras, ‌shocking a nation in which such school-based violence is ⁠very rare.

Erdogan said the government will also take ⁠additional ‌steps to ⁠monitor the internet ​as ‌part of its ​response ⁠to the incidents.

(Reporting by Huseyin Hayatsever; Writing by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Bill ​Berkrot)