FOOTAGE: Police arrest the gunman outside the US Embassy in Ankara. He swears and says “don’t play with us” pic.twitter.com/rfIWsa6EdU
— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) December 20, 2016
On Monday, an off-duty cop named Mevlut Mert assassinated the Russian ambassador to Turkey at an art gallery in the Turkish capital of Ankara. The assassin was killed by police, but several hours later, another gunman has been taken into custody outside Ankara’s U.S. embassy. Video footage of his arrest can be seen above from the Twitter account of Ragip Soylu, Washington correspondent for the Daily Sabah paper.
News of the incident, which has been classified as “a security risk,” also arrives courtesy of Sabah and is translated by the Daily Beast, which reveals that the man was apprehended while firing shots outside the embassy after failing to gain entrance:
A gunman armed with a rifle was reportedly arrested outside the U.S. embassy in Ankara, Turkey early Tuesday morning, local time. Turkish state media identified the gunman as “Sahin S.” He allegedly attempted to enter the embassy and fired eight to nine shots outside the building. Police arrested him before he could enter the embassy.
As noted, the gunman was swiftly identified by the state-run Turkish media. At this point, authorities aren’t sure whether these two Ankara incidents are connected in any way or merely coincidental. Nor do we know if this second attacker declared his motivation as Mert did during the assassination of the Russian ambassador. (Mert was apparently motivated by Russian actions taken during the Syrian civil war and Battle of Aleppo.)
This situation is still developing, and we will bring you more information if it becomes available.
(Via Sabah & Daily Beast)