An 18-year-old man, identified only as Arda K., allegedly wounded five people in a knife attack at an open-air café near a mosque in Eskişehir, Turkey, on Monday, according to media and government reports.
The alleged assailant was wearing a helmet and bulletproof vest, and the attack was broadcast live on social media via a camera attached to his vest, according to ABC News, which cited Turkish media.
The video appears to show the attacker speaking into the camera before walking towards the café’s patrons. The footage appears to show the individual stabbing people with his knife while bystanders fled the scene. (RELATED: Four American Teachers Stabbed In Public Park Abroad, Police Say)
🔷An 18-year-old Nazi sympathiser Turkish man attacked five people with a knife and axe in Eskişehir, leaving two critically injured. (@bahadir_ozgr) #EskişehirAttack I #HateCrime I #Turkey I #NaziSympathiser
🔗https://t.co/DDuc5FfFro pic.twitter.com/rPlT39N1Dw
— MedyaNews (@medyanews_) August 13, 2024
Another video shows the aftermath of the attack after police arrested the suspect. Onlookers and police officers can be seen standing over the handcuffed suspect, who was lying prone on the ground.
🚨5 INJURED IN MASS STABBING IN TURKEY
Police have arrested an 18-year-old masked man after 5 people were wounded in a stabbing attack in the northwestern city of Eskisehir.
Wearing a helmet, a skull face covering, and a bulletproof vest, the attacker stabbed 5 people sitting… pic.twitter.com/fHWCbga089
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) August 13, 2024
The incident took place near the Tepebaşı Mosque, where the victims were relaxing after evening prayers, according to media reports. The attacker also carried an ax, although it was not used during the assault, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency. The Eskisehir governor’s office reported that the attacker was apprehended following a police chase.
Two of the five victims remain in critical condition, as reported by Anadolu Agency. Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya has announced that a thorough investigation is underway to determine the motivations behind the attack.
The attacker was found with symbols and paraphernalia linked to neo-Nazis and far-right extremism, including a bulletproof vest adorned with the “Black Sun” symbol, which is typically associated with Nazi ideology, according to Turkish Minute. Investigators reportedly found a manifesto the suspect allegedly published online filled with racist rhetoric.
If the reports are accurate, this would be Turkey’s first Nazi-inspired attack, the Turkish Minute noted.
