A gunman killed six people and wounded eight others Monday in Turkey's southern Mersin province, in a shooting spree that began with the murder of his ex-wife before spiralling into a rampage through a roadside restaurant and surrounding area.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed the death toll in a televised address © Mena Today
A gunman killed six people and wounded eight others Monday in Turkey's southern Mersin province, in a shooting spree that began with the murder of his ex-wife before spiralling into a rampage through a roadside restaurant and surrounding area.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed the death toll in a televised address, offering condolences to the victims' families and wishing a swift recovery to the wounded. He gave no further details on the circumstances of the attack.
According to private news agencies DHA and IHA, the 37-year-old suspect — still at large as of Monday evening — shot dead the owner and an employee of a restaurant located some 40 kilometres north-east of Mersin, before wounding several others during his escape.
A shepherd grazing his flock near the restaurant was also among the victims. One wounded employee told agency IHA: "He came in without saying a word. I thought he was reaching for his phone — but he pulled out a gun."
Helicopters were deployed to search for the suspect as ambulances rushed the injured to hospital.
The attack is the latest in a series of deadly shootings to shake Turkey. In April, a 14-year-old opened fire at a school, killing nine children and a teacher. A day earlier, a 19-year-old wounded 16 at another school in the country's south-east.
Following those attacks, Erdogan pledged to tighten gun control legislation. The pledge has yet to translate into action, and according to a Turkish foundation, tens of millions of firearms, most of them illegal, continue to circulate across the country.
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