ISTANBUL: A teenager opened fire outside a high school in western Turkey on Tuesday, injuring 11 students before being detained by police, authorities said.

The incident took place at around 8am local time in Turgutlu, in Manisa province near the western city of Izmir, according to the regional governor’s office.

Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said 11 students were injured, including two who sustained serious injuries. The suspected attacker was quickly apprehended and taken into custody.

Gurlek said the suspect’s parents and grandfather were also detained as part of the investigation into the shooting.

Police and emergency responders rushed to the scene as worried parents gathered outside the school.

Witnesses told local media that the attacker appeared angry and was carrying what was described as a rifle or shotgun.

CCTV footage broadcast by Turkish media showed a young man wearing black trousers and a jacket over a green top and carrying what appeared to be a long-barrelled firearm. Other footage showed police detaining a man outside the school.

Authorities launched an investigation to determine how the weapon came into the teenager’s possession and the circumstances in which it had been stored and supervised.

Officials are also investigating allegations of bullying involving the suspect before the attack, Gurlek said.

The Education Ministry suspended classes at the school for the remainder of the day.

The latest shooting comes five months after two separate attacks by teenagers at schools in Turkey that prompted concerns over security at educational institutions.

In April, a 14-year-old opened fire at a school in Kahramanmaras province, killing a teacher and nine students aged 10 and 11 before dying at the scene.

A day earlier, another teenager opened fire at his former high school in Sanliurfa province, injuring 16 people before taking his own life when confronted by police.

Following the attacks, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged tighter gun controls and said school safety would remain a government priority.

The latest incident occurred a day after Education Minister Yusuf Tekin and Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci announced additional security measures for the new academic year.

Ciftci said 31,000 school grounds supervisors had been deployed, while police officers had been assigned permanently to schools classified as first- and second-degree risks.

Schools considered lower risk were assigned police liaison officers to coordinate with school administrations.