ISTANBUL — Authorities in Turkey are still searching for a gunman who fired 180 bullets from an AK 47, killing 39 and wounding 65 people celebrating New Year’s Eve at the Reina nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey. The Islamic State later claimed responsibility for the attack. About 600 people were in the club at the time of the seven-minute attack, according to reports. Witnesses reported that the gunman shouted “Allahu akbar” while firing his weapon inside the venue after killing a police officer and bystander outside. He then left his weapon, changed clothes and exited the back door, blending into the crowd.
Of the 39 killed, 30 were visiting the upscale venue from 13 different countries around the world. Prior to this attack, the club, located next to the Bosphorus waterway, was best known as a magnet for the wealthy and famous, a place where celebrity sightings were common.
The club’s owner, Memet Kocarslan, posted the following message on its website, www.reina.com.tr, underscoring the difficulty of preventing these kinds of attacks even with extensive security precautions:
We are deeply saddened by the deplorable attack that happened around 01:15 at our establishment in Ortaköy. This terrible incident is a treacherous and cruel attack on humanity, our nation, our peace, unity, fraternity, economy, our tourism, in short on all our country. We are in tremendous grief. The bullets pierced our hearts… Everyone who lost their lives in this cruel attack, all our citizens, our police friends who were on duty at the door, our tourist brothers and sisters inside, the waiters and bellhops, all of them are our children. We pray for Allah’s mercy on all our brothers and sisters who lost their lives, for quick recoveries for the injured, and for patience and strength to all their families.
Extraordinary security measures were adopted on the Arnavutköy-Bebek-Ortaköy Bosporus line since two weeks, tents were erected and 24/7 inspection teams were assigned at all these locations. Coast guard teams were also taking the necessary precautions on the sea side. This terrible incident happened despite all these measures taken by our security forces. We don’t know what to say. This is where words lose their meanings.
We are completely confident that this terror attack on humanity, on our nation and our country will not disturb our unity, will not destroy our fraternity, and that our state will eliminate terrorism in collaboration with our nation.
Respectfully presented to the public,
Memet Kocarslan
