Man fires shots outside US embassy in Turkey
No injuries in incident hours after Russian envoy assassinated; shotgun-wielding shooter shouts, ‘Don’t play with us’
Turkish police detained a man who fired shots in front of the US embassy in Ankara early Tuesday, several hours after the Russian ambassador to Turkey was killed in an attack.
The state-run Anadolu Agency said the man took out a pump action shotgun he hid in his coat and fired around eight shots in the air. He was overpowered by the embassy’s security guards.
As he was taken away, the man cursed and shouted, “Don’t play with us,” Turkish media reported, naming the suspect as “Sahin S.”
“An individual approached the US Embassy Ankara main gate and discharged a firearm,” the embassy said in a statement, adding that no one was hurt and the individual was detained.
https://twitter.com/TheAnkaraTimes/status/811037217246375940
The embassy said its missions in Ankara, Istanbul and the southern city of Adana would be “closed for normal operations on Tuesday.”
US Embassy in Ankara and Consulates Istanbul and Adana closed for normal operations today. Visa appointments will be rescheduled.
— U.S. Embassy Turkey (@USEmbassyTurkey) December 20, 2016
The incident took place at 3:50 a.m., hours after a Turkish policeman shot dead Russian ambassador Andrei Karlov as he was opening a photography exhibition.
The US embassy is located in Ankara directly on the other side of the street from the arts center where the shooting took place in the Turkish capital.
The United States has repeatedly warned its citizens of security risks in Turkey after a string of attacks blamed on Kurdish militants and jihadists this year.
“The US Mission reminds US citizens to review personal security plans” and to “maintain a high level of vigilance and take appropriate steps to enhance your personal security,” it said.
In February 2013 a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the entrance of the US Embassy in the Turkish capital, killing himself and a guard at the gate.
The following April, Turkish police revealed they had busted a group of al-Qaeda-linked operatives who planned to bomb the embassy, a synagogue in Istanbul and other sites.
