Attack on HDP office in İstanbul leaves two injured

Party members said that the assailant ran away after they took away his weapons in what was the third armed attack targeting the party in six months.

İstanbul

Still image showing the office after the attack (Source: Karşı Mahalle)

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

An armed assailant injured two people today (December 28) at the Peoples' Democratic Party's (HDP) Bahçelievler District Organization office in İstanbul.

The assailant introduced himself as a sympathizer of the party and asked about membership before attacking party members, Mesopotamia Agency (MA) reported.

Party members Ramazan Dışarı and Aziz Şimşek were slightly injured in the attack, according to the report.

"He said he wanted to be a member. We offered him a cup of tea. Then he threw it on me, saying, 'You don't know me. I came to kill you'," Dışarı told MA.

"He attacked us with two weapons and a knife. He tried to stab me, but failed. We took the weapons away from him. There were three of us inside. We had to elderly friends as well," he said.

Running away from the office after the party members took his weapons, the assailant was reportedly nabbed by police officers in a nearby bakery.

Dışarı said they had turned over the weapons to the police.

HDP deputy Züleyha Gülüm and party members visited the office after the attack.

The dentention of the assailant:

#SONDAKİKA #HDP Bahçelievler ilçe örgütüne silahlı saldırı!

İlçe binasına gelen 25 yaşlarında bir kişi "Sizi öldüreceğim" diyerek silah ve bıçakla saldırı girişiminde bulundu.

Partililerin müdahale ettiği saldırgan Ekpa isimli fırına kaçtı.

Polis saldırganı gözaltına aldı. pic.twitter.com/57emLBljls
— KarşıMahalle (@KarsiMahalleOrg) December 28, 2021

Third attack in six months

This was the third armed attack targeting HDP offices in six months.

In June, an armed assailant stormed the HDP İzmir Provincial Organization and killed party worker Deniz Poyraz. Social media posts of the assailant revealed that he was a sympathizer of the nationalist Grey Wolves group.

Less than a month later, a man fired shots at the HDP's district office in Marmaris, Muğla. No one was hurt in the attack.