The motive for the attack, in which a group of men traveled to an Elazığ village and opened fire at random on villagers working the fields, remains unclear. İbrahim Esendemir, İzzet Esendemir, Ahmet Sis, Emine Yükselen, Mustafa Coşkun and Nafiye Coşkun were killed in the attack. Seven people were injured and transported to area hospitals.
Chief physician Dr. Erhan Yılmaz said that four wounded people had been brought to Fırat University Hospital for treatment following the incident. “Treatment is ongoing for Mehmet Yükselen [49] and Kenan Sürekli [27], as well as for Mehmet Hanefi Coşkun [24] and Orhan Coşkun [61], who are in critical condition,” Yılmaz said. Three other victims, whose identities have not been released and whose condition is reportedly serious, are being treated at Elazığ Research Hospital.
 Six people died and seven others were injured in an armed attack in Elazığ, the motive of which is unclear. |
According to reports, a father and his three sons traveled to Karaali village and, after announcing that they had come from a neighboring village, the father and at least one of his sons opened fire near the Esendemir family home. All four fled the scene after the incident.
Gendarmerie teams captured one of the attacking party, N.Y., and are questioning him and trying to determine the extent of his involvement in the incident. Authorities are still searching for primary suspects Haşim Y. and his son Murat Y. as well as the man's other son, B.Y. Elazığ Governor Muammer Uzman on Tuesday described Haşim Y. as mentally disturbed.
Meanwhile, media reports yesterday suggested that local gendarmes had previously received complaints regarding Haşim Y. and his sons but that these had not been taken seriously enough. Rıfai Coşkun, a relative of Mustafa and Nafiye Coşkun, who were killed in the attack, said that recently a group of seven or eight villagers signed a petition and took it to the local gendarmerie headquarters to complain about the family. “Does somebody have to die in order for the procedure to work?” he asked following the tragic event.
Tragedy echoes Mardin massacre
With a death toll of at least six, yesterday's events in Karaali echoed another recent tragedy involving civilians in Turkey, when an attack by armed assailants on an engagement ceremony in Bilge village in Mardin on May 4 resulted in the deaths of 44 people and the injury of two others. Sixteen of those victims were women, and six were children. Three of the women were pregnant. The vicious attack reportedly stemmed from an interfamily dispute over the bride. Some sources, however, claimed that a land dispute was the cause of the attack. The attack was one of the worst involving civilians in Turkey's recent history, and 40 children lost one or both parents in the shooting. Some people lost as many as 39 family members in the attack.
