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The fatal shooting of two police officers in the western city of Izmir by a 16-year-old assailant has reignited Türkiye’s national debate over juvenile crime and pushed the government toward drafting tougher penalties for child offenders. Authorities say 27 people have now been arrested in connection with the attack.
The shooting unfolded outside a police station in the Balçova district on Monday. Officials said the teenager, identified as E.B., first opened fire with a pump-action shotgun on an officer standing guard. A police chief inspector was killed in the ensuing clash before colleagues subdued the gunman by shooting him in the leg. Two other officers and a civilian were wounded.
Izmir Governor Süleyman Elban described the suspect as an 11th-grade high school student with no previous criminal record. His father told investigators his son had recently shown radical tendencies, spending hours online and withdrawing from his family. Police said the weapon belonged to the father.
In the sweeping investigation, counterterrorism teams detained relatives, friends and acquaintances of the shooter, along with several suspects in Istanbul, Ankara and Şanlıurfa. The arrests, prosecutors said, are part of an effort to determine how the teenager obtained the weapon and whether he acted under outside influence.
Legislative response
The Izmir attack, following other violent crimes committed by minors in Istanbul and Ankara, has prompted officials to accelerate new legislation.
Turkish media on Wednesday reported that the Justice Ministry is preparing amendments to Article 31 of the Turkish Penal Code, which currently reduces sentences for offenders between the ages of 15 and 18.
Under the existing statute, children under 12 cannot be held criminally responsible. Those between 15 and 18 who commit crimes that normally carry aggravated life sentences instead face terms ranging from 18 to 24 years in prison, with reductions applied to other offenses as well.
According to a report in the Turkish newspaper Sabah, the proposed regulation would scale back those sentence reductions and allow judges to impose full penalties in premeditated murder cases involving offenders over 16. The government argues that minors who act with intent in such crimes should not escape punishment through legal loopholes.
Officials also intend to increase sanctions on parents who neglect their legal duties. Current law prescribes up to one year in prison for failing to fulfill family obligations, but lawmakers are considering tougher penalties to ensure parents play a more active role in preventing their children from being “pushed into crime.”
The proposal is expected to be submitted to Parliament in the coming weeks. While details are still being finalized, the plan would allow judges greater discretion in sentencing minors over 16 for severe crimes and limit reductions in punishment.
Looking abroad
As part of its legislative review, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has studied international practices. Many countries set the age of criminal responsibility between 12 and 15. France allows prosecution from age 13, Germany sets the threshold at 14, while Sweden involves social services for offenders under 15. The United States and the United Kingdom permit transferring minors to adult courts for serious crimes.
Türkiye’s new draft borrows elements from these models but emphasizes stricter punishment over leniency. The government’s aim, officials say, is to protect society while also deterring children from falling prey to criminal influences.
Broader social concern
Juvenile delinquency has grown into a pressing issue in Türkiye, where authorities say children are being targeted by gangs, radical groups and criminal networks.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in remarks after a Cabinet meeting on Monday, warned that such organizations are deliberately recruiting young people.
“We must solve this problem by working together before it becomes chronic,” Erdoğan said.
Recent cases have fueled the sense of urgency. In January this year, 16-year-old Mattia Ahmet Minguzzi was killed in a confrontation involving minors in Istanbul. Just last month in the capital Ankara, 22-year-old Hakan Çakır died trying to protect his brother and mother from assailants under 18.
The number of incidents involving children reported to or brought before security units in Türkiye rose significantly in 2024, reaching 612,651, an increase of 9.8% compared to the previous year, according to data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) in August.
The statistics reveal a broad picture of the reasons children interact with law enforcement across the country. Of the total cases, 279,620 children were identified as victims, while 202,785 were involved due to alleged criminal behavior, categorized as “children driven to crime.” Additionally, 96,438 children were questioned for informational purposes, 18,561 were reported missing and later found, 8,729 were involved in minor offenses and 6,518 came to security units for other reasons not otherwise classified.
Among the “children driven to crime,” 40.4% were involved in assault-related incidents, 16.6% in theft and 8.2% in drug-related offenses, including use, sale or purchase of illegal substances. Other allegations included threats 4.6%, crimes creating general danger 4.2% and a wide array of other offenses accounting for 26% of the total.
Children who were victims represented 45.6% of the total number of cases. Of the 279,620 victimized children, 86.1% were victims of criminal acts, while the remaining 13.8% were involved in incidents requiring official follow-up but not necessarily categorized as crimes.
The most common offenses among child victims were assaults at 55.3%, followed by sexual crimes, 10.8%, human trafficking and migrant smuggling, 9.5%, family-related crimes at 8%, and other offenses, 16.5%.
