One injured in gun battle at Istanbul courthouse, police detain 20

ISTANBUL

At least one person was injured on Sept. 21 when a shootout broke out between rival gangs at Istanbul’s Çağlayan courthouse.

The gun battle broke out between the opposite sides of a murder trial, which was ongoing at the 10th High Criminal Court at the complex.

An injured person, only identified with the initials K.G., was taken to the hospital by medical teams. A child was also taken to the hospital, but it was unclear if it was a case of shock or physical injury.

Some 20 people in connection to the armed clash were detained while a brawl also erupted during the police intervention. Reinforcements and a police helicopter were also deployed to the scene.

Those detained were reportedly members of two rival gangs that have also had clashes in the past.
Police are searching for anyone else involved in the fracas.

K.G. was reportedly being tried without arrest in the case of a murder committed eight months ago in the Gaziosmanpaşa district.

Çağlayan courthouse, one of the largest in the country, was at the center of a major incident in March 2015 when members of the outlawed Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) seized and killed a prosecutor, Mehmet Selim Kiraz.

Kiraz, 46, was taken hostage in the Çağlayan complex but was shot dead by his captors after six hours of negotiations.        

The two hostage-takers, who released photographs of Kiraz with a pistol pointed at his head during the siege, were killed by security forces.