17.01.2026 11:01
The statement of E.Ç., the 15-year-old suspect who stabbed and killed 17-year-old Atlas Çağlayan in Güngören, has emerged. E.Ç. said, "While I was in front of the café, Atlas Çağlayan, who was part of another group coming out of the café, said to me, 'What are you looking at?' He came at me. I stabbed him once in the stomach with the knife I had on me. After that, they laid the boy on the ground. I accept the accusations against me as I have described."
The incident that broke the heart of Turkey occurred in the Güngören district of Istanbul on January 14 at around 20:20 in the Mehmet Nesih Özmen neighborhood on Emek Street. It was learned that a dispute broke out between two groups who did not know each other before, after leaving a café due to an accusation of 'looking sideways.' The incident quickly escalated into a knife fight, during which E.Ç. (15) injured Atlas Çağlayan in the chest area with a knife described as a switchblade. Heavily injured, Atlas Çağlayan was taken to Bağcılar Training and Research Hospital by the ambulance called to the scene. Despite all the interventions made here, Çağlayan could not be saved.
ARRESTED
After the incident, the suspect E.Ç. was caught by police teams and taken into custody along with the knife. E.Ç. was arrested by the court to which he was brought.
"'WHAT WERE YOU LOOKING AT?' HE SAID, I STABBED HIM ONCE IN THE BELLY"
E.Ç. stated in his testimony to the prosecutor, "On the date of the incident, I went to a café in Güngören with my friends A.A.H., S.Y., and M. After leaving the café with my friends, Atlas Çağlayan, whose name I learned as a result of the incident, cursed at me saying 'what are you looking at?' He came towards me. I took out the knife I had and swung it. I stabbed him once in the belly. After that, they laid the boy on the ground. My friends who were with me also beat and insulted me. I started to wait there. My friend A.A.H. told me to give him the knife, so I gave him the knife I had. While he was holding the knife, those in the café told him to throw it on the ground. My friend threw the knife on the ground. When the police came, they caught me in the café. They took the knife. I accept the accusations as I have explained them, I did not know Atlas Çağlayan before," he said.
"THEY ARE 15 YEARS OLD BUT NOT CHILDREN, THEY ARE MONSTERS"
Atlas's mother, Gülhan Çağlayan, said, "I want justice for my Atlas. My son was stabbed by monsters in front of the café he went to every day. I want our voice to be heard. I want justice for my child. The people who did this to my child are 15 years old, but they are not children at 15, they are monsters at 15. And I buried my son underground. My baby has become soil, and they should suffer that punishment for a lifetime. First, they killed Ahmet, then my baby Atlas. I don't want any other children to be harmed after this. I don't want other children's mothers to burn," she said.
"HIS FACE WAS PURPLE, ALL HIS BLOOD WAS GONE"
The grieving mother said, "I learned that my son was at home waiting for me after work. I came home. After I got home, he said, 'Mom, I'm going to my brother's.' My son had gone to the same café with his friends. My son Atlas was waiting for me to come home, and after I came, he left. I told him, 'Don't be late, I will worry.' But he went. It was not even half an hour after he left, then his twin brother called: 'Mom, they stabbed my brother, he is dying, hurry.' When I got to the scene, my son was already gasping for breath. They were doing CPR there, but his face was purple, all his blood was gone. All his blood had left. Then the ambulance came, but it came very late. They revived his heart in the ambulance, we went to the hospital. They took him for emergency surgery. It lasted an hour and a half. My baby couldn't even live for half an hour. It must not have been half an hour. They said, 'He passed away,' they said, 'he died.' They said, 'He died,' it finished my baby. That monster killed my child. What will happen to him is uncertain. I want him to spend his life in prison. I want justice for Atlas. I want everyone to hear my voice," she expressed.
"A CHILD CARRYING A KNIFE IN HIS POCKET HAS SET OUT TO COMMIT MURDER"
Atlas's aunt, Şaziye Pamuk, said, "Justice will cleanse the blood of our child, I believe in this. I want to believe in this. How many times... A child carrying a knife in his pocket has set out to commit murder. It cannot be understood any other way. Let our great judges, prosecutors, and the Ministry of Justice hear this. I think of this as a human being, our justice must know this, must think about it. I believe it will be like this. Please let him be tried as an adult. He should receive the necessary punishment. It won't bring our loved ones back, it won't. But he should not be able to harm anyone's life again," she said.