A Turkish prosecutor and the two gunmen holding him hostage were killed today after police stormed a courthouse in Istanbul. Prosecutor Mehmet Selim Kiraz was shot three times in the head and twice in the body, according to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.
Six hours earlier, gunmen from Marxist group Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front, or DHKP-C, took Kiraz hostage, apparently because he'd led an investigation into the death of Berkin Elvan, a 14-year-old boy who fell into a coma and died nine months after being struck with a tear gas canister during an anti-government protest last March. The DHKP-C reportedly demanded that the police officers involved in Elvan's death be tried in the "people's court" and that all charges be dropped against members who attended the protests.
Elvan's family distanced themselves from the group in a message released earlier today. From Reuters:
In a brief video message on a widely followed Twitter account describing itself as that of Elvan's family, the boy's father had seemed to call on the group not to harm Kiraz.
"We want justice. We don't want anyone to shed even a drop of blood. We don't want other mothers to cry," Sami Elvan said.
Police chief Selami Altunok told Reuters that authorities worked to establish communication with the DHKP-C members but decided to storm the courthouse after shots were heard from inside the building.
"Our forces have worked with patience and endurance for six hours and took all necessary security measures," he said. "We cannot underestimate the seriousness of this incident."
