In the armed attack carried out by İsa Aras Mersinli, an eighth-grade student of the school, at Ayser Çalık Secondary School in Kahramanmaraş on April 15, teacher Ayla Kara and 9 students lost their lives and 15 students were injured.
Furkan Mehmet Cinkara, the lawyer of the students who were injured and lost their lives in the armed attack, claimed in his criminal complaint petition submitted to the Kahramanmaraş Chief Public Prosecutor's Office that there was no fire escape, secondary escape route and evacuation system in accordance with the legislation in the school.
"THE PERPERMAN INCLUDE THE PHYSICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE DEFICIES OF THE SCHOOL IN HIS PLAN"
In the criminal complaint petition, reference was made to the following statements in the letter dated April 11, 2026, which was seized from the computer of the perpetrator İsa Aras Mersinli and considered to be related to the incident: "... classes of 40 people, there are no locks in any classroom, there is no active shooter drill, exits can be locked, the police are far away, no one is armed, I have been trained, my effectiveness with a gun is comparable to that of a police officer, my position is easy, I know the roads" and the following evaluations were included:
"Within the scope of the investigation file, the findings and statements in the manifesto that the perpetrator apparently wrote before the incident, stating that 'Ayser Çalık Secondary School has classrooms of 40 students, there are no locks in the classrooms, there are no active shooter drills, the exits are lockable, the police stay away and no one is armed' clearly reveal how critical the physical and administrative evacuation and security weaknesses in the school building are.
As a matter of fact, the perpetrator must have observed these physical and administrative deficiencies in advance and included them in his plan; "The lack of a fire escape, secondary escape route and evacuation system in accordance with the legislation in the school building reinforces the causal link between crisis and security management negligence and stranding, stampede, entrapment and impossibility of evacuation at the time of the incident, and necessitates the immediate and thorough investigation of the responsibilities of all buildings, structures and administrative public officials who are at fault and negligence in these deficiencies within the scope of Articles 85, 89 and 257 of the Turkish Penal Code."
REQUEST TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF EVACUATION VALIDITY IN THE SCHOOL
Lawyer Furkan Mehmet Cinkara claimed that the school did not have a fire escape, a secondary escape route and an evacuation system in accordance with the legislation, and demanded that an investigation be carried out and a public lawsuit be filed against those responsible for the project design, construction, licensing, inspection and opening of the building for education and training for the crimes of "causing death by negligence", "causing injury by negligence" and "abuse of office".
Cinkara requested that the school's architectural project, license, building use permit files, temporary and final acceptance commission minutes, and fire brigade fire safety and compliance reports be brought from the relevant institutions.
In addition, it was requested that a reconnaissance and technical examination be carried out at the school, accompanied by an expert committee consisting of building and construction technique and fire safety experts, that the camera records in and around the school from the day of the incident be examined, and that the file numbered 2026/537 of the Kahramanmaraş Chief Public Prosecutor's Office be evaluated together with the existing evidence.
Lawyer Cinkara requested that, in line with the evidence to be collected, the effects of the lack of fire escapes and secondary escape routes on the reported strandings, falling from heights, entrapment, stampede and evacuation delays that occurred during the incident should be evaluated separately for each victim and the person who lost their lives, and that an indictment be issued against those responsible.
