Police searches for murderer

ISTANBUL

Turkish police are looking for the killer of 6-year-old Umut Ceylan, who was killed by a stray bullet while he was playing in a children’s park in the western province of İzmir on Aug. 28.

Ceylan was set to start the first grade of primary school this year. He was shot by a stray bullet while he was climbing a slide in the park at around 10:30 p.m. The bullet reportedly reached his heart, and despite all medical aid he could not be saved. Witnesses in the area said the gunshot could not be heard due to noise from a motorcycle that was riding past the park at the time.

Some 800 police officers reportedly blocked the area, searching for witnesses in homes around the park.

Father Ufuk Ceylan, who took his son’s body from the institution of forensic medicine, said: “My son is dead, this incident will be forgotten, but how can I forget this pain even if suspect is found?”

Umut Ceylan was laid to rest in the Çatal village of the Menderes district in İzmir yesterday.