Court arrests driver of armored police vehicle that killed two sleeping children in Turkey’s southeast

ŞIRNAK

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A local court in the southeastern province of Şırnak on May 9 ordered the arrest of an officer who crashed an armored vehicle into a house in the province’s Silopi district, causing the death of two children while they were sleeping, Doğan News Agency has reported.

Two brothers, seven-year-old Muhammet Yıldırım and six-year-old Furkan Yıldırım were killed on May 4 after the police vehicle destroyed the wall of Mesut Yıldırım’s house in the Karşıyaka neighborhood before subsequently crashing into it while they were asleep.

A police officer, whose identity was not disclosed, had been detained as a part of the investigation and later referred to a prosecutor to testify.

The Silopi Criminal Court of Peace on May 9 ordered the arrest of the police officer who was driving the armored vehicle.

Residents of the neighborhood initially said the person driving the vehicle was intoxicated, but Şırnak Chief Public Prosecutor Mehmet Patlak refuted the claim in a written statement.

Patlak said the police officer was proven sober following test results and blood sample analyses conducted in a hospital, adding that the investigation into the accident has been ongoing meticulously.

The Şırnak Governor’s Office previously refuted claims of an intoxicated driver in the crash.

“The allegations in several media outlets and on social media regarding the driver police officer being intoxicated do not reflect the truth. No alcohol consumption was determined in the breath and blood tests conducted,” the governor’s office said.

Speaking about the incident, the uncle of the killed children, Suat Yıldırım, 31, said they thought a bomb exploded when the vehicle crashed and the police officers had gone.