06.11.2026 01:50
It has been revealed what the attacker who killed 8 people in Afyonkarahisar said to the shepherd he encountered during his escape. When the vehicle he robbed in Eskişehir got stuck in the mud, the suspect stole another vehicle; meanwhile, trying not to attract suspicion, he said to the shepherd who noticed him and was holding a flashlight, 'Don't hold the flashlight, I'm from this village.'
After the blood-chilling incident in Afyonkarahisar, Arif Sefa Özdemir, who fled toward Eskişehir, changed his route to the rural area of Seyitgazi.
The first vehicle the suspect stole got stuck in the mud in a field near Taşlık Neighborhood. Forced to abandon the vehicle there, the suspect tried to cover his tracks on foot. Continuing his escape in the area, the suspect moved on to Kuyucak Neighborhood and this time stole a light commercial vehicle with license plate 26 NZ 187 belonging to Recep Özçimen. As a result of the meticulous work of gendarmerie and police teams, the suspect was caught and detained on the Eskişehir-Afyonkarahisar road before he could get far from Kuyucak Neighborhood. During examinations at the scene and along the escape route, a shotgun was found on the right front passenger seat of the vehicle the suspect was using.
HE TOLD THE SHEPHERD WHO SAW HIM, "I AM FROM THIS VILLAGE"
It was learned that the robbery took place at night in Kuyucak Neighborhood and that a shepherd in the neighborhood sensed movement in the darkness and shone a flashlight, coming face to face with the suspect. To distract the shepherd and avoid suspicion, the suspect told the lie "Don't shine the flashlight, I am from this village" quite calmly, and it was stated that he tried to buy himself some time this way.
"HE LEFT THE KEY UNDER THE CUSHION; HOWEVER HE FOUND IT, HE TOOK IT AND LEFT"
Ethem Özçimen, brother of Recep Özçimen, whose vehicle was stolen, described the shock. Stating that they had never encountered such a crime in their village until today, Ethem Özçimen said: "The man took the car from in front of the door, from the roadside, and drove it away. My brother had gone to sit as a guest, and he left the vehicle's key under the cushion. There had never been such incidents in our village before. We didn't see the man, but the shepherd did. When the shepherd shone the flashlight at the man, he said, 'Don't shine the flashlight, I am from this village.' However he found the key, he found it and took it and left. My brother always leaves the key like that anyway."