One killed in shooting in Istanbul’s Gazi neighborhood

ISTANBUL - Doğan News Agency

A 23-year-old man was killed late Nov. 14 in an armed attack by unknown people in Istanbul’s famous Gazi neighborhood, which has long been a site of clashes between leftist groups and police.

The victim, Erdal Arslan, was walking in the street with a friend, Serkan Özcan, at around 10:30 p.m. in the evening when the pair were shot. Initial reports suggested gangs could be the perpetrators.

They were taken to a nearby private hospital after the attack. Arslan succumbed to his injuries while Özcan’s medical situation remains critical.

The police have launched an investigation into the incident to determine the identity of the perpetrator or perpetrators.

A 21-year-old man, Hasan Ferit Gedik, was shot to death Sept. 30 when suspected drug dealers opened fire on a leftist group who were protesting their presence in the Gülsuyu neighborhood in the Asian-side district of Maltepe. Family members subsequently accused police officers of attempting to destroy evidence at the hospital. Gedik was finally buried in a cemetery in the Gazi neighborhood after a three-day wait as police were forced to accede to mourners’ demands that his body first be taken to the site of his murder for a ceremony.