4 dead, 8 hurt as gunman opens fire in southern Turkey

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 inside a restaurant with the two others killed elsewhere and the assailant fleeing in a car, DHA said.

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

DHA said the shooter was a 17-year-old armed with a shotgun.

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

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

Agence France-Presse