The assassination of the Russian ambassador to Turkey at an art gallery in Ankara was caught on video.
Andrey Karlov was fatally shot by a gunman in a suit who shouted about Aleppo, Syria, and yelled “Allahu Akbar,” during the attack, the Associated Press reports.
The gunman has been identified as a Turkish police officer, Mert Altintas.
Video of the shooting shows Karlov giving his speech in the capital city of Ankara when gunfire erupts. Karlov reacts to being shot and then falls to the ground. The camera then switches to the accused attacker, Mert Altintas, who can be seen firing into the air and then yelling.
You can watch the video below (Warning – Graphic):
#VIDEO: Another footage of #assassination of #Russia‘s #ambassador to #Turkey #AndreyKarlov in #Ankara:
According to CNN, the gunman screamed in Arabic, “Allahu akbar (God is great),” before saying in Turkish, “Do not forget Aleppo! Do not forget Syria! Do not forget Aleppo! Do not forget Syria!”
Altintas allowed the others in attendance at the gallery to leave, saying he was not trying to harm them, and was there to die, witnesses said.
“Only death will remove me from here. Everyone who has taken part in this oppression will one by one pay for it,” he said, according to CNN.
Russian officials confirmed that Karlov was killed in the attack.
“We regard this as a terrorist act,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Reuters. “Terrorism will not win and we will fight against it decisively.”
The shooting occurred at the Contemporary Arts Gallery in Ankara’s central Cankaya district, according to Anadolu, the Turkish state-run media agency.
Karlov was speaking at the opening of a photo exhibit called “Russia as seen by Turks.”
Altintas was later killed in a shootout with security forces.
Altintas became a police officer in 2014, according to a police yearbook photo posted on Twitter by Turkish media.
He was a member of the Ankara police special operations force, according to local media.
Ankara’s mayor, Melih Gokcek, said the attack was aimed at disrupting relations between Russia and Turkey, Reuters reports.
You can read more about Karlov and the shooting at the link below:
Read more about Mert Altintas at the link below:
Read more about Karlov and Altintas in Spanish at AhoraMismo.com: