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A gunman shot and killed six people across multiple locations in Türkiye's Mersin province on Monday before killing himself, as gendarmerie forces surrounded his hideout, the Mersin Governor's Office said.
The attack, which left eight others wounded across the Tarsus and Camliyayla districts, was one of the deadliest single-perpetrator shootings in Türkiye's southern Mediterranean region in recent memory.
The first report of gunfire reached authorities at 10:52 a.m. GMT on Monday in the Kadelli neighborhood of Tarsus, according to the statement.
The suspect, identified as Metin Ozturk, 37, drove to a butcher shop and restaurant in Kadelli, where he worked until a year ago, and opened fire from inside his vehicle.
The shooting killed the restaurant owner, Sabri Pan, 30, and an employee, Ahmet Ercan, 18.
Ozturk fled the scene in a white vehicle bearing license plate 01 B 9171 and continued his attacks across multiple neighborhoods.
In the Yenikoy neighborhood, he shot and killed Gokay Selfioglu, a truck driver waiting at a fuel station. In the Daripinari neighborhood in Camliyayla district, he shot and killed Arzu Ozden, 32, his former wife, as she walked along the roadside.
Ozturk then ran Abdullah Koca, 50, off the road on a motorcycle in the Yenikoy neighborhood, and fatally shot him. He also shot and killed Yusuf Oktay, 16, a shepherd, in the Karakutuk neighborhood.
Eight more people were wounded during Ozturk's violent spree. They were transported to the Tarsus State Hospital and surrounding medical facilities for treatment, the governor's office said.
Security forces deployed helicopters and drones to scour Tarsus, Camliyayla, and the neighboring Adana province district of Pozanti in a widespread manhunt for Ozturk. His abandoned vehicle was located in the rural outskirts of the Karakutuk neighborhood.
Authorities traced Ozturk to a residence near a forested area in the Cokak locality of the Karakutuk neighborhood. Provincial gendarmerie command and special operations teams surrounded the building. Upon realizing he was about to be captured, Ozturk shot himself with his handgun.
The Kaburgedigi neighborhood headman, Isa Gur, told state-run Anadolu Agency (AA) correspondent that his nephew, Veli Simsek, who worked at a nearby market, was wounded in the attack and was receiving treatment at Tarsus State Hospital. Gur said Ozturk opened fire the moment he arrived at the location.
"At first I thought they were joking around, throwing firecrackers or something, but that wasn't it. The kid said 'I've been shot.' Then I ran to the car and went after the attacker, but I couldn't catch him," Gur said.
Gur added that residents did not know Ozturk and that he had fired randomly at people in the area.
The Mersin Governor's Office confirmed the death toll and issued a formal statement on the suspect's background.
"The suspect was found to have had multiple hospital admissions due to illegal substance addiction and various psychiatric diagnoses. Work related to the case is being meticulously carried out by our security units and the judicial and administrative process is ongoing," the governor's office said.
Five of the six victims, Ozden, Ercan, Pan, Koca and Oktay, were buried at the Tarsus City Cemetery following funeral prayers. The body of truck driver Selfioglu was sent to his hometown of Nigde for burial.
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