Turkish noncommissioned officer dies after playing Russian Roulette

GÜMÜŞHANE

A Turkish noncommissioned officer has died after playing Russian Roulette in front of other soldiers in the Black Sea province of Gümüşhane.

Gendarmerie Noncommissioned Officer Rıdvan Çetin arrived at the Gümüşhane Provincial Gendarmerie Command in the evening after carrying out his duties in the province’s districts on Dec. 26.

The 28-year-old officer, who was from the Gönen district of the northwestern province of Balıkesir and who worked as an automobile technician, headed to the maintenance atelier of the command, after he reportedly emptied the bullets in his gun, except one of them.

According to the soldiers who witnessed the incident, Çetin said he was going to play Russian Roulette and put his service pistol to his head before pulling the trigger.

After getting heavily wounded at the first shot, the officer was taken to the Gümüşhane State Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

Çetin, who was engaged, was reportedly planning to take annual leave and was making preparations to get married.

While his corpse was sent to a forensic medicine institute for autopsy, the soldiers who saw Çetin shoot himself were taken to hospital after feeling sick.

An investigation was launched into the incident.

Gümüşhane Mayor Okay Memiş, meanwhile, was notified about the officer’s death during a dinner hosted for families of fallen soldiers and headed to the hospital immediately.

After receiving information from the Provincial Gendarmerie Command Col. Cezayir Danışan, Provincial Health Directorate head Dr. Engin Pehlivan and several other officials, Memiş told journalists they were deeply saddened by the incident.

“This friend of ours [Çetin] was mostly assigned to technical duties and the maintenance of vehicles at the Provincial Gendarmerie Regimental Command. We know that he was engaged to a woman in Gümüşhane. In fact, he had some plans for the near future and took permission to go on annual leave from his commanders,” Memiş told journalists, adding that the issue is now in the hands of legal authorities.

“He wasn’t someone who would engage in such behavior. However, everyone has their own private life. We don’t know what might have happened there. We will definitely investigate and examine the incident in both administrative and legal ways. We are very sad and shocked. According to our initial examinations, we believe he was intoxicated,” he also said.

Saying that there were soldiers who felt psychological distress, Memiş noted that they are also currently receiving treatment and will receive psychological support.