4 dead, 8 hurt as gunman opens fire in southern Turkiye: reports

Four people were killed and another eight wounded when a gunman opened fire near the southern Turkish city of Mersin on Monday, the DHA and IHA news agencies reported.

At least two people were killed when the assailant opened fire at a restaurant, with the two others killed elsewhere and the assailant fleeing in a car, DHA said.

The shooting occurred near Tarsus, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) northeast of Mersin, prompting a widespread police manhunt to locate the shooter that also involved helicopters, it said.

There was no immediate comment from police or other officials. DHA said the shooter was a 17-year-old armed with a shotgun.

Among those killed in the shooting were the restaurant owner and one of his employees, IHA said, identifying the other two as a young man grazing livestock and a truck driver.

The violence came a month after two shooting attacks by teenagers rocked Turkiye.

In the first incident, 16 people were injured, while the second attack claimed 10 lives, most of them young schoolchildren.