A deputy school principal in Istanbul reportedly killed a teacher inside a classroom full of students Thursday. The female victim was said to have previously broken up with her alleged killer.
The National Education Directorate has assigned psychologists to support the 24 students, all around the age of five, who witnessed the brutal murder at Istanbul Ticaret Odası Primary School.
The school’s deputy principal, Ekrem Şavran, 33, reportedly came into the classroom led by Derya Çakır, 25, on Thursday afternoon and an argument erupted between them while class was still in session. Şavran allegedly first shot Çakır, and then cut her throat and stabbed her when he realized the gunshot had not killed her, daily Milliyet reported.
Police detained Şavran as other students and teachers evacuated the classroom.
The alleged killer and the victim had reportedly began a love affair about one year previously; when Çakır called the relationship off two months ago, Şavran is said to have become more and more aggressive. In his first testimony to police, Şavran said they were supposed to marry, but Çakır backed down two months ago.
“We had strong arguments,” he said. “She did not answer my phone calls and told me that her family did not want us to marry either.”
A group of officials from the National Education Directorate came to the school after the incident. Officials said the 24 students in the classroom will get time off from school and will each be monitored by a counselor and a psychologist on a daily basis.
“Events like the stabbing in front of this school were assumed to have ended, yet a teacher killed another [teacher] in front of our children,” the parent of one of the students said, according to daily Radikal.
Wednesday 19 January 2011
Teacher kills teacher in front of students in Istanbul school - Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review
