ISTANBUL — A university employee killed four fellow staff members in a shooting Thursday at a university in the western Turkish city of Eskisehir, reports said.

The attacker was later detained, the Dogan news agency said. Those killed were the deputy dean, faculty secretary, and two lecturers at Osmangazi University, the state-run Anadolu news agency added.

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

Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up

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.

ÜNİVERSİTEYE SİLAHLI SALDIRI | Eskişehir Osmangazi Üniversitesi'nde silahlı saldırı: 4 ölühttps://t.co/TKmc9VHVAU pic.twitter.com/FRqcDis1dq — Özgür Gelecek (@ozgur__gelecek) April 5, 2018

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 were questioning him.

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 Thursday’s shooting and extremist activity.