In the middle of a religious ceremony. Two masked assailants attacked an Italian church in Istanbul this Sunday, killing one person, announced the Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya. The attack occurred around 11:40 a.m. local time (8:40 a.m. GMT) in the Sariyer district of Istanbul, the Interior Minister announced on social networks. An investigation has been opened, he added. According to the minister, a person who attended the celebration, simply identified by his initials C. T., was killed.
Television images showed police officers and an ambulance outside the church gate. “We strongly condemn this despicable attack,” added Ali Yerlikaya.
Erdogan offers his condolences
The attackers targeted this person in the middle of mass, denounced Omer Celik, the spokesperson for the ruling AKP party (Party for Justice and Development). “Our security forces are carrying out a full-scale investigation into this matter,” he said. “Those who threaten the peace and security of our citizens will never achieve their goals.” The motive for this attack was not immediately known.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered his condolences. He assured that all “necessary measures” had been taken to find the attackers. President Thing, who spoke on the telephone with the priest of the church and local officials, assured that everything was being done to find the attackers “as soon as possible”, according to the presidency.