Police officer arrested over incident that led to death of four civilians in Turkey’s east

HAKKARİ

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A court in the eastern province of Hakkari on Oct. 9 ordered the arrest of a police officer over an incident that led to the death of four civilians, Doğan News Agency has reported.

Civilians at a furniture store in the Yüksekova district of Hakkari were hit after a machine gun on the top of an armored police vehicle opened fire while patrolling on Oct. 8.

Four civilians were killed at the scene while two were wounded at the store, located on the ground floor of a six-story building. The four killed were expected to be laid to rest on Oct. 9 while the treatment of the two injured individuals is ongoing. 

Pervin Buldan, a deputy of the Kurdish issue-focused Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) born in Hakkari, has said one of the victims, Serhat Buldan, was her nephew. 

The police officer, identified only by the initials İ.M., was detained after the incident. In his initial testimony he reportedly said he did not touch the trigger but the mechanism was activated by itself. 

A local court ordered his arrest on Oct. 9. An investigation into the incident is ongoing.