Turkish police have ruled out terrorism as the cause of the April 15 school shooting in Kahramanmaraş, which killed 8 students and 1 teacher. In a statement released through the police's official Facebook account, it was reported that initial checks were carried out on the phone of the 14-year-old perpetrator, who was an eighth-grade student at the school where he opened fire, BTA reported.
“Initial checks revealed that in the WhatsApp profile, the perpetrator used an image that was a reference to Elliot Roger, who carried out an attack in the United States in 2014“, the Turkish police statement said.
Elliott Roger is known for his hatred of women and threats that he would start killing because of his loneliness and sexual problems. He stabbed three people in his apartment and killed three more while driving around in a car and on foot, shooting at others, and then committed suicide.
The police recall that the shooter's father, a former security officer, was also detained and later arrested.
“The digital materials that were seized during the searches of the perpetrator's home and his father's car have been confiscated and are being examined“, the law enforcement authorities emphasized.
The inspection of the crime scene has been completed. The analysis of the camera recordings continues.
“Based on the initial findings, no evidence has been found of a connection between the case and terrorism. "It is being treated as an individual attack," Turkish police said.
A meeting is scheduled for today to analyze security measures in and around schools and the need to strengthen them. The meeting will be attended by Turkey's Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci, Education Minister Yusuf Tekin, governors, and directors of regional education inspectorates.