Quarrel turns wedding into gunfight in Turkey's west, leaving 3 dead, 15 injured

BURSA – Doğan News Agency

DHA Photo

An argument at a street wedding held by members of the Roma community in the Hacivat neighborhood in the western province of Bursa on May 31 turned into a gunfight, leaving three people dead and 15 others injured.

Among the dead was Efkan Özçimen, 32, the head of the Roma Associations Federation and a former candidate nominee for the Justice and Development Party (AKP). A woman and man were also among the dead. The 15 injured are receiving treatment in local hospitals.

Özçimen kept calling on relatives of the wedding couple to dances throughout the night. The fight reportedly began when the Gedik family told Özçimen he did not call them to dance for a long time. The argument quickly evolved into a gunfight.

The attendees of the ceremony ran in panic as 18 people were wounded in the exchange of fire. All casualties were taken to the Şevket Yılmaz Education and Research Hospital, Muradiye and Çekirge state hospitals, and a private hospital.

However, Özçimen, along with Saniye Gedik, 53, and Savaş Göcük, 31, could not be saved.
The police detained six people, some from Gedik family, including Metin Gedik, Ferdi Gedik and Çetin Gedik. All six will appear in court after they testify.

The police also seized about empty 100 cartridges while searching the area.

Özçimen previously told a Doğan News Agency reporter during the May 5 Hıdırellez celebrations (a festive event marking the beginning of the summer) he would pray for living together in peace and solidarity, adding he had always supported peace, not violence. Özçimen was nominated for candidate from the AKP in both 2011 and this year’s June 7 election, but not listed as a deputy candidate.