16.04.2026 17:14
Uğur Mersinli, the father of 8th-grade student İsa Aras Mersinli, who carried out the attack in Kahramanmaraş that claimed 9 lives, stated in his testimony, "He had no interest in guns, but about a month ago, he told me that his friends were shooting with guns and asked me when I would let him shoot." The father's words revealed the danger concerning young people in this age group.
The statement of Uğur Mersinli, the father of 8th-grade student İsa Aras Mersinli, who carried out the attack at Ayser Çalık Middle School in Onikişubat district of Kahramanmaraş, resulting in the death of 9 people including 8 children, has emerged.
"I HAVE 7 LICENSED FIREARMS" In his statement, father Mersinli said, "I learned that children had died and that my son had passed away. Later, detention procedures were carried out upon the prosecutor's instruction. The firearms and ammunition used by my son İsa Aras within the scope of the incident belong to me. I have 7 licensed firearms of my own, and I also have 2 hunting rifles. These are rifles owned in my name within the scope of regulations. My son İsa Aras took 5 of my firearms to the scene. My firearms are kept in the bedroom. All the firearms and ammunition are inside a locked Maraş chest. The magazines are not kept attached to the firearms. When I take the firearms on me, I take the firearms and magazines from different chests and go out. The mentioned Maraş chests are self-locking chests. İsa Aras learned how to open the chests, but I don't remember opening my chests in his presence. The chests are always locked. I don't know how my son İsa Aras opened the chests on the day of the incident. My son İsa Aras might have learned how to open the mentioned chests from the internet. My son Aras was a very good internet user. He even had his own VPN. He speaks English like a native language. He is a very intelligent child. My son had typical adolescent and exam problems, stresses. I took my son to psychologist friends at the police station because of this situation, but the psychologist friends at the police station said there was no negative situation and that my son was very intelligent."
"I USED TO SEE MY SON PLAYING WAR GAMES FREQUENTLY" Father Mersinli said, "For about 2 months, I have been taking İsa Aras to a private specialist psychologist near our house. The mentioned psychologist said that my son would have problems with social harmony, that he needed to be monitored a bit, and that psychiatric treatment might be needed in the future. He last went to the psychologist 3 weeks ago, but recently he avoided going to the psychologist. Since my son used his computer and mobile phone in English mode and I don't know English, I couldn't monitor what my son was busy with on his mobile phone and computer. Although I don't know the name, I used to see my son playing war games frequently. When I asked him what he was doing, he would evade by giving me answers like 'Oh man,' I couldn't get a healthy answer. My son İsa had no previous interest in firearms, but about 1 month ago he asked me when I would let him shoot since his friends were shooting with guns. Again, about a month ago, I came home from work and left the gun on the dresser in the bedroom for a short while. I saw my son trying to take the gun and got angry with him. Since I realized he had an interest in firearms, I told him about our gun culture, mentioned that the gun is called 'honor.' I also told him that I would leave one of the firearms to him when I retire. My intention in this statement was to postpone my son's enthusiasm for the gun. I gave him hope by saying, 'If your record is clean in the future and you study at a good school, we can buy you a gun too.' Upon this, my son said to me, 'Everyone can buy guns in America.' I then told him who can buy and carry guns in our country."
"I TOOK A FEW PHOTOS AND VIDEOS OF MY SON WHILE HE WAS SHOOTING" Father Mersinli, stating that he took a photo of his son firing a gun, said, "My son said his friends were firing guns and that I would also let him fire a gun. This conversation might have taken place last Thursday or Friday. I told him that on a sunny day next week, I would go to the shooting range and that I could take him too. Later, this Monday, I went to the police shooting range and shot with my own gun. I also let my son fire a few rounds. I showed my son the target across, told him that the gun would not be used randomly, that shooting would be done by aiming. I took a few photos and videos of my son while he was shooting. My intention in this was for it to remain as a memory and to dull his enthusiasm. I later sent the photos to my son İsa via WhatsApp. According to what I learned from the police, my son showed the mentioned photos to his friends, and his friends were astonished. The firearms, ammunition, and magazines in my house are not kept together in a loaded state. My son does not forget something he has seen. The Maraş chests where the firearms and ammunition are stored have three buttons. The chests open the moment these three buttons are touched. Since my child was constantly busy with the computer and mobile phone, I wanted to check out of curiosity, but my son did not give me the passwords. I had wanted to check thinking he might be influenced by harmful content. My son would speak English while playing games on his mobile phone and computer, but I couldn't understand what he was saying."
"WHEN WE ENTERED HIS ROOM, HE WOULD CLOSE EVERYTHING" Mersinli, stating that his son went to school limitedly, used the following expressions: "My son played interactive (voice chat, online) games. When we entered his room, he would close everything, he didn't want to show us anything. Therefore, we could not detect any negative situation until now. There was no argument between us on the day of the incident or before. My son's mood was unpredictable, his emotional state constantly fluctuated.
"HE COULD ONLY ATTEND SCHOOL FOR 3 YEARS IN 8 YEARS" We had previously met with my son's guidance teacher. When he got low grades from exams, he would exhibit aggressive behaviors, but I did not notice that he harbored any negative feelings towards his teachers or students. In fact, I would sometimes ask if there was anyone bullying at school, and he would say 'No' to me. My son's circle of friends was very limited. My son İsa could only attend school for 3 years in a total of 8 years. Because part of the education period coincided with the pandemic, and part with the earthquake period."