Seven killed in armed attack in northeast Turkey
Sociologist working in the state statistics institution employee kills seven people including himself in the city of Kars.
KARS, Turkey
A sociologist who was under psychological treatment killed six people before committing suicide in northeast Turkey on Wednesday, authorities said.
The attacker, identified by officials as Veysi Erim, raided the Turkish Statistical Institute office in Kars province early in the morning, taking all the personnel hostage.
"Erim was an employee of the TurkStat regional office, working in the capacity of sociologist. He was receiving psychological treatment," a written statement from Kars governorate said.
The statement said the incident was not motivated by terrorism or politics.
Among those killed was TurkStat's Kars regional director, Mehmet Tolon. One person was hurt in the attack but is not in critical condition, the statement said.
"Previously, several investigations had been opened on Erim due to some problems," a lawmaker from Kars told The Anadolu Agency. "They say he had insistent demands to be appointed to the city of Diyarbakir."
AK Party MP Yunus Kilic said the attacker used an unlicenced Glock pistol.
englishnews@aa.com.tr
Anadolu Agency website contains only a portion of the news stories offered to subscribers in the AA News Broadcasting System (HAS), and in summarized form. Please contact us for subscription options.
