Most armed violence in Istanbul: Report

ISTANBUL

While more than 2,200 people were killed in armed violence across the country in 2022, the most violence occurred in Istanbul, as in previous years, according to a report prepared by the Umut Foundation.

A total of 2,278 people were killed and 4,231 injured in the armed violence incidents that took place across the country last year, according to the “2022 Armed Violence Map” prepared by the Umut Foundation, which fights against individual armament, based on the stories reflected in the media.

While cutting tools were used in 616 (15.4 percent) of the incidents, 3,368 (84.5 percent) murders were committed with firearms, the report said, noting that pistols were used in 2,528 incidents, 143 of which were service weapons, and rifles in 840 incidents.

According to the report, the Marmara region, the one with the highest population density and receiving the most immigrants, was the region where the most armed violence was witnessed, as in previous years.

A total of 560 people lost their lives in the incidents that took place in the region, where 1,136 armed violence was reflected in the media.

It was followed by the Mediterranean region with 571 incidents, the Southeast Anatolian region with 566 incidents, the Black Sea region with 543 incidents, the Central Anatolian region with 463 incidents, the Aegean region with 459 incidents and the Eastern Anatolian region with 246 incidents.

In Istanbul, where a total of 519 incidents were covered by the press, 296 people died and 601 people were injured in armed violence.

The nearby province of Sakarya, which was in Marmara’s fourth place in the previous year’s report, ranked second in 2022. It was followed by Kocaeli and Bursa, respectively.

While the Mediterranean region stood out as the region where armed violence increased the most, there was a 6 percent decrease in the Aegean and Central Anatolian regions.

Ranking second across Türkiye, Adana took the lead in the Mediterranean region where 571 armed violence incidents were reported by the media.

The Southeast Anatolia region, which was fifth in the 2021 report, came to third place last year, while Şanlıurfa, Diyarbakır, and Gaziantep were the provinces where armed violence is witnessed the most in the region.

The report also revealed that Samsun ranked first in the Black Sea region, Konya in the Central Anatolian region, İzmir in the Aegean region, and Malatya in the Eastern Anatolian region.