Turkish police have arrested two suspects after an attack on a Catholic church in Istanbul that left one dead. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced this on Sunday evening. Two masked men entered the Catholic Church of Santa Maria in the Sariyer district during church services on Sunday morning and murdered a man there. According to media reports, the victim was 52 years old. The perpetrators initially managed to escape.
Even after the arrests, the background to the crime initially remained unclear. “We condemn this heinous attack in the strongest terms,” Yerlikaya said. He gave the victim’s name only by his initials, CT. Everything indicated that the two men had deliberately killed their victim.
The victim is said to be homeless
However, Italian media had previously reported that the victim was a homeless Turkish national. According to these reports, the two gunmen entered the church during mass and shot into the air. When the man stood up to protest, they shot him.
According to authorities, approximately 40 patrons were participating in the service at the time of the crime. Security camera footage before the attack showed two men wearing black balaclavas, their hands hidden in their pockets. One of them was wearing black sunglasses. Images of police and rescue cars were later shown. Broadcaster CNN Türk reported that police had set up roadblocks at key traffic points and were carrying out stricter checks.
Pope expressed his condolences
Pope Francis expressed support for the church under attack. During afternoon prayers in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, he said: “I am close to the congregation of the Church of Santa Maria in Sariyer in Istanbul, which experienced an armed attack during Sunday Mass in which one person was killed and several others injured. .”
In a telephone conversation with representatives of the church and local authorities, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also expressed his condolences. According to his office, Erdogan assured that every effort would be made “to catch the perpetrators as soon as possible.” The president is currently in the Central Anatolian province of Eskisehir, campaigning for his party ahead of local elections in March.
Were Islamists behind the attack?
In December, Turkish security forces arrested 32 suspected supporters of the Islamic State jihadist militia on suspicion of planning attacks on synagogues, churches and the Iraqi embassy in Turkey. Turkey is more than 99 percent Muslim. According to the state news agency Anadolu Ajansi, more than 180,000 Christians still live in the country.
Source: Krone
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