Police shoot dead armed man in Turkey’s south

MERSİN – Doğan News Agency

DHA photo

Police forces opened fire on two armed men in the southern province of Mersin, killing one and injuring the other late Sept. 6.

Suspected militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) staged illegal actions in the Fahrettin Paşa, Gaziler, Barbaros and Şahin neighborhoods of Tarsus district at around 10 p.m. To counter the protests, police forces formed a checkpoint on roads linking the neighborhoods to block access to the area.

Meanwhile, an anonymous person reportedly informed the police of two men firing shots from motorcycles. As the news was being reported, two men on a motorcycle approached a checkpoint in Kavaklı neighborhood, at which point police issued an order to stop after realizing that one of the men had a shotgun. 

The armed men disobeyed the police warning, prompting police to fire, killing Murat Özdemir, 28, and wounding Mehmet Çopur, 23, who was reportedly in good condition. 

In the aftermath of the incident, the shotgun was seized while hand swabs were taken to determine whether or not weapon had been fired.