Shortly before 4:00 AM local time on Tuesday, a man fired about eight rounds from a pump-action shotgun into the air near the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey. The embassy is located near the art gallery where Russia’s ambassador was murdered by a terrorist on Monday.
The gunman was swiftly overpowered by embassy security guards, and is now in police custody, according to Fox News. No injuries were reported. Turkish media outlets are quoted identifying the shooter only as “Sahin S.”
Russian state outlet RT.com reports the man shouted “Don’t play with us!” as he was taken into custody. It is not yet known if he was connected to the assassination of the Russian ambassador.
The U.S. State Department praised the “prompt response” of Turkish authorities, and said its facilities in Ankara, Istanbul, and Adana would be “closed for normal operations on Tuesday.”
The Wall Street Journal adds that the U.S. embassy anticipated demonstrations in Adana against “terrorism and the PKK,” the Kurdish separatist group.
“Previous such demonstrations in other cities also included anti-American messages. Even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate into violence,” the embassy warned.
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