Two police officers were killed on Sunday when a suspect opened fire on a plainclothes police team that had gone to a business center in northwestern Turkey’s Tekirdağ province to detain him, the T24 news website reported.
The incident took place at around 1:30 p.m. on the third floor of a six-story business center in Çorlu, a district of Tekirdağ.
The officers, from the Çorlu Police Department’s public order branch, had reportedly been dispatched to the building to apprehend Orhan Altan, who was the subject of a detention warrant after allegedly escaping from a hospital where he was receiving psychological treatment.
Altan allegedly opened fire after the officers entered the building. Police officers Erkan Tütüncüler and Emrah Koç were seriously wounded in the initial gunfire and later died of their injuries.
Altan was also wounded during the intervention, taken into custody and taken to Çorlu State Hospital, according to the Interior Ministry.
A large number of police and medical teams were sent to the area after the attack.
Footage shared by Turkish media showed the suspect resisting officers while holding a gun and a knife before surrendering after police pointed their weapons at him.
A crowd gathered at the scene during the detention, with some people attempting to attack the suspect before police intervened.
An investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
The two officers were later laid to rest at a funeral ceremony attended by officials including Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi and relatives in Çorlu on Monday.