A gunman killed four people and wounded eight others of varying severity in an armed indiscriminate attack near the southern Turkish city of Mersin.
Security authorities are still investigating the circumstances of the massacre, which has imposed a state of uncertainty about its motives, amid intensive security alert and extensive ground and air pursuits to apprehend the fugitive suspect before committing other crimes.
The course of the bloody attack and the security chase
The Turkish non-governmental news agencies DHA and IHA reported that the suspect, who was later identified as a 17-year-old youth, began his attack by opening fire indiscriminately and intensively inside a restaurant located along a main road 40 kilometers northeast of the city of Mersin.
The initial shooting killed the restaurant owner and an employee on the spot, in addition to injuring several customers present at the scene.
The agencies continued to shoot as he tried to flee the scene, killing two other men, one of whom was a shepherd who happened to pass by with his flock near the crime scene.
Turkish helicopters chase the perpetrator
Footage and videos broadcast by Turkish local media showed a large influx of ambulances that rushed to the site to transport the eight injured to nearby hospitals for urgent treatment.
At the same time, the Turkish Security Command sent reinforcements from special forces and cordoned off the entire area, while a police helicopter flew over the bushes and surrounding areas to guide ground teams and track the runaway teenager's route.
Incidents of Violence Against Adolescents on the Rise in Turkey
This shocking incident reminds us of the growing fears on the Turkish street about the rising rates of armed crime among adolescents and adolescents, as the country witnessed another tragic incident last April, when a boy under the age of 14 opened fire inside a school in a major city in eastern Turkey, which resulted in the horrific massacre of 9 students between the ages of 10 and 11, in addition to the death of their teacher, which again opens the door to a debate about easy access. Minors to arms.