A GUNMAN HAS killed four members of staff at a university in the western Turkish city of Eskisehir.

The attack, who was an employee of the Osmangazi University, has been detained, according to the Dogan news agency.

Those killed in the attack were the deputy dean of the university, a faculty secretary and two lecturers, the state-run Anadolu news agency added.

The university’s rector Hasan Gonen confirmed to CNN-Turk television that four people had been killed.

Eskisehir, a city of nearly one million, is on the railway line between Ankara and Istanbul and has rarely been the scene of any kind of violent attack.

Dogan said that the attack sparked panic at the university, with both students and teachers in a state of shock.

It said there was no indication of the assailant’s motive, describing him as a research fellow at the university working in the education faculty.

Police have been questioning him.

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Television pictures showed shocked staff and students gathering outside the university’s main entrance. Many ambulances were sent to the area.

Turkey has in recent years been hit by a string of deadly attacks blamed on Kurdish militants and jihadists. However, there was no indication of any link between today’s shooting and extremist activity.

© – AFP, 2018