Russian ambassador shot dead in capital of Turkey, Ankara
Russia’s Ambassador in Turkey Andrey Gennadiyeviç Karlov has been shot dead in capital of Turkey, Ankara while speaking at an opening ceremony of an arts gallery at Çağdaş Sanatlar Merkezi (Modern Arts Center of Ankara).
Karlov was taken to hospital wounded and in a critical condition, according to latest reports.
Attacker was a jihadist, reports indicate
Speaking to Turkey’s Hürriyet newspaper, Russian officials stated the shooting was carried out by a jihadist.
Also reporting from the site of the incident, HaberTürk reporter Bahar Bakır said a man dressed in black began shouting ‘Ya Allah Bismillah’ and said ‘We are not going to allow you do these.’ Bakır said that the armed man was probably ‘refering to Aleppo’ when he said that.
Further reports followed that gunned man had indeed said: 'Don't forget Aleppo', 'Don't forget Syria'.
Witness: 'It happened in front of our eyes....'
Witnesses reported that Ambassador Karlov was shot as he was just about to speak during the opening ceremony of the art gallery, where he was invited by Çankaya municipality. 'The attacker first opened fire in the air and shouted 'takbeer' and said 'we are not going to let you do... ' . As the crowd, which was made of around 70 people, began trying to run outside of the room and the building, the armed man shot the Ambassador from his back, according to witness reports.
Ankara representative of Hürriyet newspaper Deniz Zeyrek said their Ankara reporter Haşim Kılıç, who took the pictures, were at the gallery, too.
Workers: 'There are clashes inside'
Workers at the art center contacted BirGün to report that they were stuck in the light room as they locked themselves in there and turned down the volume of their cellphones while the clashes were still going on.
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Attacker was disarmed by special operations unit, according to reports
Dressed in a black suit, the attacker said, after shooting the Ambassador, 'I am not going to get out of here before dying'. While reports indicated that clashes continued inside the center after people were evacuated, special operations officers managed to catch and take the attacker into custody.
It has been reported that the assassinator of Ambassador Karlov was 22 year old Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş who had an ID card as a riot police officer. However, no official statement has been made about it yet.
Source: https://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/rusya-buyukelcisi-ankara-da-silahli-suikasta-ugradi-140137.html
https://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/iste-buyukelci-karlov-a-suikast-duzenleyen-saldirgan-140140.html