Gunman Who Killed Six in Türkiye Dies by Suicide After Massive Police Manhunt
Authorities say the suspect behind the deadly shooting spree near Mersin had a history of substance dependency and psychiatric treatment
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — A massive manhunt for a gunman who killed six people in southern Türkiye ended early Tuesday after the suspect took his own life when cornered by police, according to Turkish media reports.
The 37-year-old suspect had fled into a forested area near Tarsus, located between the southern cities of Mersin and Adana, after carrying out a deadly shooting spree that also wounded eight others.
The state-run Anadolu Agency reported that the violence began after the suspect allegedly shot and killed his ex-wife before embarking on a series of attacks across the area.
According to the DHA and IHA news agencies, the gunman first entered a restaurant near Tarsus and opened fire, killing the owner and one employee. He later fled the scene and fatally shot two more men — a shepherd tending his animals nearby and a truck driver at a petrol station.
The identity of the sixth victim was not immediately clear.
Turkish security forces launched an extensive operation involving helicopters and heavily armed police units to locate the suspect, who remained on the run for several hours overnight.
The search ended in the early hours of Tuesday after police tracked the suspect to a house around 10 kilometers from where the attacks began. According to IHA, the gunman shot himself to avoid capture.
Speaking from his hospital bed, restaurant worker Mehmet Han Topal, who was wounded in the leg during the initial attack, described the terrifying moments when the shooting began.
“He came in without a word. We thought he was taking out his telephone, but he pulled out a pistol,” Topal told IHA.
“I got down. He fired at me.”
In a statement posted overnight on X, the Mersin governor’s office said the attacks began shortly before 2:00 p.m. local time and noted that the suspect had “multiple hospital admissions due to prohibited substance dependency and various psychiatric diagnoses.”
The deadly rampage has renewed concerns in Türkiye over rising gun violence and the widespread availability of illegal firearms.
The shootings came only a month after two separate attacks carried out by teenagers shocked the country. One incident left 16 people injured, while another killed 10 people, most of them schoolchildren.
Türkiye has experienced several deadly firearm-related attacks in recent years, ranging from domestic disputes to mass casualty shootings. Rights groups and security analysts have repeatedly warned about the growing circulation of unlicensed weapons across the country.