A gunman opened fire yesterday (April 20) at the ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP) Çukurova district office in Adana, which had been temporarily evacuated following recent earthquakes.
The suspect, holding a shotgun, fired at the building which had party signs and flags hanging outside, security camera footage showed. The police quickly caught the assailant, a 24-year-old identified as E.K., who was taken to the local police department for further investigation.
AKP Spokesperson Ömer Çelik, who visited the office and spoke to reporters, stated that the initial information received suggests that the attack was specifically aimed at the AKP building. "He is not mentioning any party name he belongs to. He just says he is against the AKP. At this stage, it doesn't matter what he says. What matters is that he carried out the attack on the basis of AKP's statements that he heard on TV," Çelik said.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also addressed the incident today in response to questions from journalists after Eid al-Fitr prayers.
"I will not make a comment like some party leaders do, nor am I seeking any benefit from it," Erdogan said. "But some party leaders try to turn a situation into an opportunity for their own interests when an attack takes place in Istanbul. Then this incident happened. We are not strangers to such things in politics and our security forces immediately caught the assailant. The necessary procedures are being carried out by the judiciary."
Recently, the main opposition CHP, its ally the Good (İYİ) Party, and the Green Left (Yeşil Sol) Party offices have also been targeted in similar attacks.
Turkey will hold dual presidential and parliamentary elections on May 14. Erdoğan's AKP is seeking to extend its two-decade rule. (HA/VK)
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