ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A high school principal was shot dead allegedly by a former student in Istanbul on Tuesday. The suspect is reportedly from an Iraqi mother, Qatari father, and holds Turkish citizenship.
74-year-old school Principal Ibrahim Oktugan had expelled the suspect from the school some five months before due to his conduct, which has been cited as the motive for the murder.
"The student was very problematic," Kadriye Deveci, a teacher at the school told Rudaw’s Rawin Sterk, adding “He [Oktugan] said that he [suspect] was not a good example for our students. He was very disrespectful to all teachers.”
"It was decided to expel him from school. The family tried hard to fight this. The student was very bad. We said we can no longer tolerate his conduct, so we expelled him," Deveci explained.
Oktugan was shot twice in the head, and succumbed to his wounds hours later in the hospital.
Family, friends, and students of the teacher protested the murder, calling on authorities to take greater measures towards protecting the education sector from violence.
He was buried in a large procession on Wednesday.
"Our teacher was a very disciplined person. In his work, he was very respectful towards teachers and students. He was a very good person," Ilayda Turgut, a student, said.
The former student was arrested in suspicion of the murder shortly after the incident.
