An emotional funeral was held in Turkey this morning for the two policemen killed yesterday in an attack on a police station in the Balçova district west of Izmir, while prosecutors are still investigating what led a 16-year-old boy to become radicalised to the point of perpetrating an attack, and Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan announces new laws to combat the growing involvement of minors in crime and delinquency.
According to Turkish media reports, dozens of people gathered to bid farewell to Chief Police Inspector Muhsin Aydemir and police officer Hasan Akın, who were killed during yesterday’s attack on a police station in Izmir. Among those attending the ceremony were Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya and the father of the slain police officer, Ferhat Akın, a retired imam who led the funeral prayer.
The attack took place at around 8:30 a.m. on 8 September, when a 16-year-old youth identified by the initials E.B. approached the Salih İşgören police station, on the outskirts of the city of Izmir, and opened fire with an air rifle, hitting officers Hasan Akın and Ömer Amilağ.
Police Chief Inspector Muhsin Aydemir, who was on the upper floor of the police station, heard the shots and went down to the lower floor; a brief chase and gun battle ensued, during which Aydemir and a civilian were wounded. The attacker was finally neutralised and arrested when police officers shot him in the legs.
A lone wolf… or an organised attack?
Although the motive for the attack is still uncertain, it is known for now that the attacker used a shotgun belonging to his father, who has also been arrested along with 26 other people for their relationship or possible involvement with the attacker. In his testimony, E.B.’s father said that his son had been showing increasingly erratic behaviour for some time: “He visited strange websites, prayed constantly and told us ‘You are all unfaithful’… He was usually a shy boy, so we were shocked by this”.
An examination of E.B.’s social media profiles showed that he posted messages glorifying groups linked to terrorist organisations such as Daesh. Shortly before carrying out his attack, E.B. had announced on his profiles that he would become a ‘martyr’, according to Turkish media, which reported that his mobile phone bore the Daesh logo.
Images of the attacker showed the wounded young man on the ground after being shot and surrounded by police, shouting ‘God is Great’ in Arabic. Although it is clear that this is a case of radicalisation of a young man by Islamist extremist groups, the Turkish authorities are still investigating whether it was a lone attack like the one that took place a year ago in Eskişehir, or whether the attacker was directly supported by terrorist groups from whom he received orders to carry out his action.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan commented yesterday after the news of the murder of the two policemen that his government will reform current legislation to introduce new measures to punish more severely crimes committed by minors. “I think this issue should be approached from multiple perspectives: sociological, psychological, pedagogical and familial,” said in televised remarks after a meeting with his cabinet of ministers Erdoğan, who also referred to the danger posed by the influence on young people of the internet, television series or violent video games.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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