Eight people detained over shootout between shuttle drivers in Istanbul school garden

ISTANBUL – Doğan News Agency

A total of eight people involved in an exchange of fire in the garden of a primary school in Istanbul were detained on Sept. 6.

Detention warrants were also issued for four other suspects in connection to the incident, which occurred in Istanbul’s Ümraniye district. 

The clash between personnel and drivers of different student shuttle companies occurred on Sept. 5, leading to one death and two injuries.

Police revealed that the suspect killed in the fire exchange, Cüneyt Elik, had three criminal records for assault. 

Police also stated that one of the suspects who is on the run also has a criminal record over “child abuse,” while one of the detained suspects has a criminal record over “drug trafficking.”

Animosity between two companies reportedly dates back to July 2016, with personnel of one of the companies having recently filed a criminal complaint accusing the other group of carrying out a physical attack with stones and sticks. 

On Sept. 5, personnel of the two companies arrived at the school in Ümraniye to register students for their own companies. An argument that erupted between them then descended into physical violence and the firing of guns. 

The clash, in which one was killed and two were injured, took place in front of school personnel, students and parents at the start of the school year.