06.11.2026 18:21
The statement Arif Sefa Özdemir gave to the prosecutor's office has emerged; he killed 8 people and injured 1 person in Afyonkarahisar. Özdemir, who claimed he was drunk during the incident, said, "On the way, I called my father and said, 'Dad, I couldn't take it anymore; they kept swearing at me. I killed all three of them.' My father told me to surrender. I told him I would run away."
The statement of attacker Arif Sefa Özdemir, who was caught in Eskişehir after fleeing following the killing of 8 people and wounding 1 person with a gun in Afyonkarahisar, has been obtained.
The suspect Özdemir claimed in his statement to the prosecutor’s office at Afyonkarahisar Courthouse that he was drunk during the incident and was not in his right mind.
“I WAS DRINKING ALCOHOL ON MY WAY TO THEM”
Özdemir, who stated that there was a debt issue between him and Noman Toprak and cited this issue as the reason for the incident, described his meeting with Noman Toprak, Bekir Toprak and Ahmet Uzel as follows:
“While going to these people, I bought cartridges for the car. I also took my unlicensed shotgun, which I had bought about a month earlier from Mustafa A., a fellow villager of mine, in the car. Meanwhile, I was drinking alcohol in the car. I bought cigarettes, alcohol and an energy drink from the liquor store near the gas station. On my way to these people, I continued drinking. When I got to them, his brother Bekir asked me how I would pay the debt. I told him that I had sent him 1,000 euros by bank transfer a month earlier and that I still owed 2,000 euros. Bekir and Ahmet objected and said, ‘Payment cannot be made this way.’ Bekir said, ‘What are you talking to him for? Why don’t you go to his father?’ Thereupon, I decided to kill them. I decided to take them to a deserted area under the pretext of a field.”
Arif Sefa Özdemir, who alleged that another argument broke out among them at the place they went and that he was sworn at, stated: “I loaded the three cartridges in my pocket into the shotgun. First, I fired once each from the driver’s side into the driver and front passenger area of the vehicle. Then I fired at the one in the back. When I noticed that the person in the back was not dead and had put his hand in his pocket, thinking he had a weapon, I moved to the side of the vehicle facing the field and fired one more shot.”
“MY FATHER TOLD ME TO SURRENDER”
Describing his escape after the first incident, Özdemir said: “On the road, I called my father and said, ‘Dad, I couldn’t take it anymore; they kept swearing at me. I killed all three of them.’ My father told me to surrender. I told him I would run away.”
“I KILLED THEM WHEN THEY TRIED TO GRAB THE GUN”
The attacker Özdemir, stating that while traveling in the direction of Kıyır he threw away his phone so as not to be followed and cut off an oncoming vehicle, continued as follows:
“I cut them off with my car and explained the situation. I told them I had killed three people. I wanted to take their vehicle. While I was trying to take the can containing the cartridges from the transit, the elderly man grabbed the end of the gun. When his wife also tried to grab the gun, I ran backward, fired one shot each, killed these people, got into their vehicle and fled. On the road, a vehicle came in front of me; I scraped the fender of the oncoming vehicle. We came face to face. When the person in the vehicle saw the gun on the seat and said he would call the police, I fired one shot and killed this person too. About 10 minutes later, we encountered a truck on the road. While I was trying to overtake the truck, because the driver did not notice me, just as I was about to roll into the ditch, I moved in front of the truck. I braked and moved back. Then I moved in front of them again, parked my car about 300 meters ahead of the truck and fired three shots or more. Because I was drunk and angry. Then I continued on my way. While I was going in the direction of Eskişehir, when I realized I had taken the wrong road, I decided to go to Kütahya and came toward Afyonkarahisar.”
“WHEN I LEARNED SHE WAS RECORDING VIDEO, I FIRED A SHOT”
Özdemir, recounting that while traveling toward Kütahya he stopped on the right and a car driven by a woman pulled up behind his vehicle, said: “At first I wasn’t going to do anything. But then I decided to change cars. Because she was a female driver, I first got out without a weapon and asked her to give me the vehicle. When I saw that she had taken a phone and was recording video, I took the shotgun and fired a shot at her too. I continued on the Kütahya road with that vehicle.”
Arif Sefa Özdemir, conveying that while continuing along side roads he decided to change vehicles again, recorded the following:
“I cut off an oncoming vehicle. I said my car had broken down and asked for help. The woman sitting in the passenger seat got out of the vehicle and came to me. I told her that I had committed a crime and that they should hand their vehicle over to me. Then I headed toward the driver’s area. At that time I had no weapon in my hand. I talked for 2-3 minutes and said I would only take the car. I also told the driver that I had killed some people. I told them to open the door or I would fire. They were calling the police on the phone. To scare them, I started counting down from 10 and from 5. When I saw that he did not put down the phone, I fired one shot at the one in front and one at the one in the back. I did not take this vehicle because there was a dead person in it.”
HE HAD MADE A PLAN FOR A NEW WEAPON
The suspect Özdemir, stating that 1-2 kilometers ahead he cut off another vehicle, said: “The vehicle owner and his wife got out of the car. I explained the situation. Then I took the shotgun and walked toward them. I said I would only take their vehicle. I took the can containing the cartridges from the red vehicle. Then I continued on the road with the vehicle. I headed in the direction of Sarıcıoğlu. Because the vehicle I had seized was card-operated, it stopped by itself after a certain distance.”
Özdemir, stating that a little farther ahead he saw people collecting mushrooms and forcibly took their car key from them, said that he continued in the direction of Seyitgazi with this vehicle, and that when he reached the main road and saw a village on the left, he made a plan to obtain a new weapon.
“I LIKED THAT THEY THOUGHT I WAS A SOLDIER”
“I saw a vehicle on the road. I approached the young people inside the vehicle. I said, ‘Young people, are you drinking alcohol?’ They said, ‘No, commander.’ I liked that they thought I was a soldier; I did not correct them. I said, ‘We are looking for someone here,’ and told them that it was a problematic vehicle and that they should hand over the vehicle. I could not start the vehicle. After the vehicle owner gave me instructions, I took the vehicle and left.”
“THERE IS A COMPLAINT ABOUT HIM, I AM COMING FROM ANKARA”
Özdemir, emphasizing that he went to the village and told the village headman, “There is a complaint about him. I am coming from Ankara,” that he asked for his weapon, and that the headman got angry and did not give it to him, stated that after leaving there he saw patrols on the road, fled, and his car got stuck in the mud.
“EXCEPT FOR THREE PEOPLE, I HAD NO ENMITY WITH THE OTHERS”
The suspect, saying that he began looking for a vehicle after dark, said that he stole the last vehicle he found without being seen by anyone, and that he was caught when he reached the main road.
Arif Sefa Özdemir said: “I carried out these actions with the courage alcohol gave me. I am very regretful. Except for the first three people I killed, I had no enmity with the others. I lost control of myself; I did not know what I was doing. I did not fire at the gendarmerie teams. I do not know how the gendarmerie were injured. I do not accept that I injured them.”