An adolescent who opened fire on Wednesday, April 15 at a school in southern Turkey, killing nine people, paid tribute to the author of a misogynistic attack in the United States, police said Thursday.
“The initial findings of the investigation revealed that the perpetrator used an image on his WhatsApp profile referring to Elliot Rodger, who carried out an attack in the United States in 2014,” said the Turkish police in a statement.
The perpetrator’s father, identified as a former police inspector, was arrested on Wednesday and placed in custody.
The reference to Elliot Rodger relates to the Isla Vista massacre author in 2014 in California. This man killed six people on the campus of a university in Santa Barbara before committing suicide. He explained in a video released before his crime that the attack was a “retribution” for the women who rejected him.
No link to terrorism: The 14-year-old perpetrator of Wednesday’s massacre died, Governor Mürkerrem Önlüer of the Kahramanmaraş province said on April 15, without being able to specify whether it was a suicide or if it happened in the chaos.
“Digital media seized during the searches at the perpetrator’s home and in his father’s vehicle have been confiscated and are being analyzed. Based on the initial findings, no link to terrorism has been established; it is likely an isolated act,” added the Turkish police.
“A student arrived at the school with weapons, possibly those of his father, in his backpack. He entered two classrooms and randomly opened fire,” detailed Mürkerrem Önl&uum;er, following a similar attack that left sixteen injured at a school located 200 km further east.
Incidents like these are rare in Turkey, where, according to estimates from a local foundation, tens of millions of firearms are in circulation, most of them illegally.
