7 January 2010 / TODAY’S ZAMAN, İSTANBUL
A disgruntled former municipal employee has been shot after allegedly instigating an altercation with a district mayor in Malatya.
According to Malatya Police Chief Ali Osman Kahya, Mustafa D. was fired two days ago from his job as a janitor at the Battalgazi Municipality. Following this, he used a friend’s cell phone to call District Mayor Selahattin Gürkan, reportedly insulting him and making threats. Following a complaint from the mayor, Mustafa D. and his friend were taken into custody and sent to the courthouse to give their testimony. His friend was put on probation, while Mustafa D. was set free. On Tuesday morning Mustafa D. returned to the municipality and began an argument with the mayor in front of the building, eventually punching him. “Following this, the mayor’s driver-bodyguard Selçuk K. also got involved. Mustafa D. stabbed Selçuk K. from behind with a knife. Following this, the mayor shot Mustafa D. in the leg,” Kahya explained. The mayor went to the police station to give his testimony over the events and a police investigation into the incidents is ongoing.
