According to reports, the secretary-general of DİSK, Tayfun Görgün, helped capture the assailant. Union officials held him down and kept him in the building until the police arrived. He was detained by the police after the attack and initially taken to the Şişli Police Station. The man was a former union man himself, police sources said. Çelebi was taken to Florence Nightingale Hospital after the armed attack at DİSK headquarters in İstanbul.
According to witness accounts, Tunçbilek went to DİSK headquarters demanding to see Çelebi without scheduling an appointment prior to his arrival. When he was met by Çelebi, he shot at him four times with a gun he withdrew from his pocket after walking to the room. Three of the bullets hit Çelebi in the leg.
The police are investigating how the suspect, believed to be in his early 50s, got into the building with a gun on his person despite security measures. Witnesses said he appeared to be asking for money from the DİSK president. The assailant was taken to the Gayrettepe Police Station for interrogation. In his initial statement, he purportedly said he fired his gun because he was angry at Çelebi for not paying a debt he owed to him.
State Minister Zafer Çağlayan was outside DİSK headquarters shortly after the attack yesterday. He said he rushed from an economy summit he was participating in at the Grand Cevahir Hotel. He told the press he had talked to Çelebi and his doctor in the hospital, assuring the press that he was conscious and his life was not in danger. Çağlayan told the press: “I've known Süleyman Çelebi for a long time. … He is one of the pioneers of improving working conditions in Turkey. I visited him. His life is not at risk. He is conscious. He sends all of you his regards. … I was really worried when I heard about the shooting, but I feel relieved now after talking to him.” He said he strongly condemned the attack.
