Teenager kills 2 officers in attack on İzmir police station as motive under probe
IZMIR
A 16-year-old high-school student attacked a police station in the western province of İzmir on Sept. 8 with a shotgun, killing two police officers, Turkish authorities have said.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said the "heinous" attack on the police station in the Balçova district left two officers dead and a third "seriously injured.”
The assailant, identified as E.B., was detained, however the motive behind the attack remains unclear.
The suspect had no prior criminal record or previous arrest for any crime and lived on the same neighborhood as the police station, İzmir Governor Süleyman Elban told Turkish media at the scene.
The assailant first shot and killed a police officer who was standing guard in front of the station. The second victim was a police chief inspector who was killed in an ensuing clash, Elban said.
"We saw plenty of empty shotgun shells... .and there were many cartridges" of unused ammunition, he added, saying the suspect used "a shotgun his father bought 10 years ago.”
Some agencies described the weapon as a "pump-action shotgun.”
The teeanager was subdued by police after being shot in the leg and he was subsequently refered to hospital for treatment.
A media report said the teenager carried out the attack just days after being released from custody, allegedly in retaliation for mistreatment at the police station. But Elban denied he had been detained or had a previous criminal record.
Commenting on the matter, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that the connections of the 16-year-old attacker are under investigation.
Some Turkish media outlets claimed that the assailant had shared posts linked to several extremist groups, including the ISIL terrorist organization, indicating that that this could have been the motive behind the attack.
A video of the assault showed the wounded teenager shouting “God is Great” while lying on the pavement as police tried to subdue him.
He appeared to be conscious but the back of his trousers were covered with blood and multiple bullet cases were lying on the ground.
Another clip showed a group of civilians helping to manhandle the suspect into a police van.
Bystanders can be heard yelling “Take his weapon!” and “Call an ambulance!” Moments later, the suspect reaches into a rucksack and throws an object, prompting panicked shouts of “Bomb!” and “Shoot him, brother, shoot him!” from the crowd.
Another footage showed mobile phone video of a person in a balaclava, a black top and pale trousers jogging along the pavement carrying a rifle and then entering a building.
Police immediately fanned out across the area, imposing tight security measures, media reports said.
