19.05.2026 14:40
{"text":"In the Tarsus district of Mersin, Metin Öztürk, who killed 6 people including his ex-wife Arzu Özden and fled, committed suicide in a forested area. Hamza Yıldırım, a local resident, described the moment, saying, "When the gendarmerie teams surrounded the killer, he realized he couldn't escape, pulled out his pistol, fired a shot at his head, and committed suicide."}"
The area where the killer who killed 6 people and wounded 8 people in Mersin committed suicide was shown, while the governorship stated in a statement about the attacker, 'Within the scope of the operations carried out by our gendarmerie units, the perpetrator's location was detected by UAV, and he committed suicide when he realized he could not escape.'
KILLED 6 PEOPLE INCLUDING HIS EX-WIFE IN A ROW In the incident that occurred yesterday, Metin Öztürk (37) opened fire with a pistol at a butcher shop and restaurant in Kadelli neighborhood of Tarsus district, where he worked about a year ago, killing employee Ahmet Ercan and business owner Sabri Pan. The suspect fled the scene in his white car and shot and killed truck driver Gökay Selfioğlu at a gas station in Yeniköy neighborhood. Continuing his escape, the suspect shot and killed his ex-wife Arzu Özden, who was walking by the roadside in Darıpınarı neighborhood of Çamlıyayla district, and killed Abdullah Koca by rolling him off a motorcycle into a ditch in Yeniköy neighborhood. The suspect then killed Yusuf Oktay, a young shepherd in Karakütük neighborhood.
OPERATION LASTED UNTIL MORNING During the attacks, the suspect also wounded 8 people along the route. The injured were taken to hospitals, primarily Tarsus State Hospital, by ambulances and treated. After the massacre in which 6 people died and 8 were injured, numerous gendarmerie teams were sent to the region to capture the suspect. While helicopter-supported efforts to capture the fleeing suspect continued, the car the suspect used to escape was found in the rural area of Karakütük neighborhood. The operation to capture the suspect, who was believed to have fled into the forested area, lasted until morning.
THE PLACE WHERE HE COMMITTED SUICIDE WAS SHOWN During search operations conducted by gendarmerie teams with Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) support, it was determined that the suspect was in a location at the Çokak area in the rural part of Karakütük neighborhood. During the operation, when the suspect realized he would be caught, he committed suicide with the gun he had. Gendarmerie crime scene investigation teams worked at the location where Öztürk committed suicide. The roads leading to the area were closed by gendarmerie teams. Extensive security measures were taken in the area. After initial examinations, the killer's body was taken by a hearse. The body was sent to the Mersin Forensic Medicine Institute morgue for autopsy. The scene was shown after the investigations were completed. It was learned that the place where the killer committed suicide was not a house, but a pasture area around the forested region.
Metin Öztürk 'HE TOOK OUT HIS PISTOL AND SHOT HIMSELF IN THE HEAD' Local resident Hamza Yıldırım described how the killer committed suicide. Yıldırım said, 'We are in the area where the suspect committed suicide in the Çokak village region. When gendarmerie teams surrounded the killer, he realized he could not escape, took out his pistol, fired a shot at his head, and committed suicide.'
GOVERNORSHIP: HE COMMITTED SUICIDE WHEN HE REALIZED HE COULD NOT ESCAPE In a statement by the Mersin Governorship, 'The perpetrator of the armed attacks that occurred yesterday in our Tarsus district was located by UAV within the scope of operations carried out by our gendarmerie units and surrounded by a helicopter-supported operation; he committed suicide when he realized he could not escape. We wish God's mercy for our citizens who lost their lives in this heinous attack, condolences to their families, and a speedy recovery to our injured citizens.'
In yesterday's statement, the governorship also announced that it was determined that the deceased individual had many hospital admissions and various psychiatric diagnoses due to substance addiction.
TEARS FLOWED LIKE A RIVER AT THE FUNERAL Meanwhile, the bodies of Arzu Özden, Sabri Pan, Ahmet Ercan Can, Abdullah Koca, Yusuf Oktay, and Gökay Sefiloğlu, killed by Metin Öztürk, were handed over to their relatives after autopsies. The bodies of 5 people were brought to Tarsus City Cemetery, while the body of truck driver Gökay Sefiloğlu was sent to his hometown of Niğde.
Mersin Governor Atilla Toros, Mersin Metropolitan Mayor Vahap Seçer, MPs from Adana and Mersin, families of the deceased, and citizens attended the funeral at the cemetery. Tarsus Mufti Murat Akçay performed separate funeral prayers for the 5 people whose coffins were placed side by side. After the prayers, the bodies of Arzu Özden, Sabri Pan, Ahmet Ercan Can, Abdullah Koca, and Yusuf Oktay were taken to their villages and buried.