Assailant detained after opening fire at Turkey's Justice Ministry

ANKARA – Anadolu Agenc

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An assailant has been detained after opening fire on a building of the Turkish Justice Ministry in the country’s capital with a pump rifle on June 30. 

The assailant, a 30-year-old identified as K.Y., approached an additional building of the Justice Ministry in central Ankara at around 1:30 p.m. on June 30 and shot at the building’s signboard with a pump rifle. 

The building’s security staff and police teams stepped in and disarmed the man, who was then detained.

While an investigation has been launched into the attack, the suspect, who was determined to have traveled to Ankara in his personal car from the Central Anatolian province of Konya on the morning of the same day, was reported to have opened fire on the building as a form of protest, as he had suffered depression due to unemployment.

The suspect did not have any previous criminal record and no connections to other organizations. 

A number of anti-terror, public security and intelligence police officers were dispatched to the scene after the incident, as the street where the attack occurred was close to other ministry buildings.