10-Year-Old Girl Killed and 7 Children Injured After School Knife Attack

A 10-year-old girl was killed and seven other children were injured in a horrifying knife attack at a middle school in Turkey, where a 15-year-old girl allegedly disguised herself as a student before carrying out the assault.

The attack happened around 8:40 a.m. Tuesday, October 6, at Şeyh Şamil Imam Hatip Middle School in Istanbul’s Başakşehir district, leaving families devastated and authorities investigating how the teenager was able to approach the younger students.

Police identified the suspect by the initials F.M., a high school student who attended a different school. According to Turkish news reports, she arrived wearing a school uniform and carrying a knife she had brought from home.

Education Minister Yusuf Tekin said the teenager had disguised herself in the targeted school’s uniform. Authorities said the confrontation unfolded as children were arriving for classes, with several students attacked in or around the school grounds.

Eight children between the ages of 10 and 13 were injured and rushed to hospitals.

One victim, 10-year-old Eslem Sare Bulut, died despite doctors’ efforts to save her. Seven other students survived, although some reportedly suffered serious injuries.

School security personnel apprehended the teenage suspect and handed her over to police.

The investigation quickly expanded beyond the alleged attacker. On Wednesday, October 7, Turkish authorities confirmed that the teenager and both of her parents had been arrested and ordered held in custody following court proceedings.

The parents’ alleged involvement has not been publicly established, and authorities have not fully explained the basis for their detention.

As investigators worked to determine what led to the violence, new questions emerged about whether the attack had been planned.

Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet reported October 8 that investigators examining the suspect’s digital devices allegedly discovered research and documents related to previous school attacks in Russia. Officials have not publicly established whether those materials directly influenced the incident.

A motive has not been confirmed.

Meanwhile, grief swept through Eslem’s community as hundreds of mourners gathered for her funeral on Wednesday, October 7. Family members, residents and local officials came together to pay their respects to the young girl.

The tragedy also prompted an urgent government response.

Turkey’s Ministry of National Education announced a judicial and administrative investigation, assigning education inspectors to examine the circumstances surrounding the attack. The Interior Ministry separately appointed senior inspectors to review the incident and the response by authorities.

Classes at the affected school were temporarily suspended, while psychological support teams were dispatched to help traumatized students, teachers and parents.

The case has raised troubling questions about school security, access to school grounds and whether warning signs could have been identified before the violence.

For Eslem’s grieving family and the seven surviving victims, those questions remain painfully personal as investigators continue working to establish exactly what happened and why.