Revealed: Killer of Russian Ambassador was a Turkish Policeman

Gina George/

The assassin of the Russian ambassador to Turkey, Anrey Karlov, has been identified as 22-year-old trained riot policeman, Mevlut Mert Altintas.
The assassin shot dead Karlov at a gallery opening in Ankara, on Monday.
Altintas was filmed as he blasted the ambassador from behind with his semi-automatic handgun during the launch of a photographic expedition.
Altintas was reportedly one of some 8,000 fired from the police as a result of an investigation into the July ‘coup’ against President Erdogan.

Turkish media pointed out that Altintas took two days’ holiday immediately after the coup.
Six suspects including his father İsrafil Altıntaş, mother Hamidiye, sister Seher Altıntaş, uncle and flatmate were arrested on Tuesday and are undergoing questioning about his motives, and whether he was linked to an extremist group.
Reports say Altintas set off the metal detector security check when he entered the exhibition in central Ankara as he was carrying a gun. But after showing his police ID, he was waved through and allowed to proceed.
Before he was shot dead himself by Special Forces, Altintas shouted in Turkish: “Don’t forget Aleppo! Don’t forget Syria!”

He then warned journalists filming the event: “Stand back! Stand back! Only death will take me out of here. Anyone who has a role in this oppression will die one by one.”
Amid the chaotic scenes, eyewitnesses reported that Altintas shouted “Allahu Akbar”, the Arabic phrase for “God is great”.
Another theory is that he had been radicalised by a Jihadist group in Syria.
In Arabic, Altintas can reportedly be heard saying: “We are the descendants of those who supported the Prophet Muhammad for jihad.”
Some reports claimed he said words to the effect that: “We made an oath to die in martyrdom … it is revenge for Syria and Aleppo … until they are safe, you will not taste safety.”
When the violence erupted in the exhibition, Altintas smashed several of the framed photos on the wall as others ran for cover.

Witness Hasim Kilic, a journalist for Turkish newspaper Hurriyet, told AFP: “It happened during the opening of an exhibition. When the ambassador was delivering a speech, a tall man wearing a suit, fired into the air first and then took aim at the ambassador.
“He said something about Aleppo and ‘revenge’. He ordered the civilians to leave the room. When people were fleeing, he fired again.”
An unnamed witness added to news website Diken: “There was a single attacker. He was wearing a suit. He said to the Russian ambassador: ‘I’m not going to get out of here alive. And neither are you.’ Then he took aim straight at him. We all ran out. The ambassador was motionless on the ground.”

Photographer Burhan Ozbilici, who was covering the exhibition, said: “The Russian ambassador was sprawled on the floor and the attacker was waving his gun at the rest of us, shouting slogans.
“He shot the ambassador at least once more at close range and smashed some of the framed photos … In all there were at least eight shots. Guests ran for cover, hiding behind columns and under tables.”
The assassin graduated from Izmir’s police vocational school and served for at least two years in the riot police.

Meanwhile, Karlov’s widow Marina was reported to have had a “nervous breakdown” in the moments after he was killed.
As the shooting began she fell to the floor like others in the audience at the photographic exhibition.

She was rushed to hospital, and was accompanied by the embassy doctor and psychologists when she flew with her husband’s remains back to Moscow, on Tuesday (today).

In a statement to the Turkish secret services, she recounted the horrific moment her husband was killed.

“I was lying on the floor along with the others. There were many people at the exhibition. All of us were shocked with what had happened.

“I recovered only when we were already on the way to the hospital. I think my husband was already dead by then.
“He shot at him 11 times. We did not have any security guards at all. Only an interpreter accompanied us from time to time.”

A mourning ceremony with a limited number of participants took place at the Esenboga airport before the body was flown to Russia.

Turkish diplomats and high-ranking officials attended the ceremony.

Watch, here, the Mail Online Video of the shooting

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