The key facts

  • 30-year-old Arif Ozdemir detained — in the Seyitgazi district of Eskisehir province
  • Bodies of nine people with gunshot wounds found in three cars in Afyonkarahisar province
  • Among the dead are two teachers from the same school; an injured woman was hospitalized in critical condition

Detention of the suspect

Turkish police have detained a man suspected of killing at least nine people. According to the IHA news agency, 30-year-old Arif Ozdemir was detained in the Seyitgazi district of Eskisehir province; he tried to flee the police by abandoning his car. The attacker's motives have yet to be established by investigators.

What is known about the attack

The bodies of nine people with gunshot wounds were earlier found in vehicles in villages of Afyonkarahisar province; in the village of Uydukent, an injured woman was also found and hospitalized in critical condition. According to the agency, the victims were in three different cars and were not connected to one another, but two of them turned out to be teachers at the same school. It is reported that the attacker randomly stopped cars traveling along the road and opened fire on the people inside; he was believed to be armed with a shotgun.

Limits of the information

The reports are based on information from the IHA news agency; there is no official confirmation from Turkish authorities or details on the progress of the investigation in the available materials. Separately, Gazeta.Ru reported on another, unrelated incident: the day before, a man opened fire on the grounds of the Citibank Center complex in the city of Brandon near Tampa, Florida, where a woman was killed and at least five people were injured, including a security guard.