Police officer killed in an armed attack during a checkpoint stop in Turkey

A Turkish police officer was killed late Tuesday night after being shot during a routine vehicle checkpoint in the capital’s Pursaklar district, authorities said.

Polis Memuru Ahmet Türkoğlu, assigned to the Pursaklar District Police Directorate, was critically wounded when a passenger in a stopped car opened fire. He was rushed to Pursaklar State Hospital, where he died despite emergency medical efforts. Officials declared him a martyr (şehit).

The incident occurred around 11:25–11:30 p.m. on the Karacaören TOKİ road during a sudden (“şok”) police checkpoint. Officers stopped a vehicle carrying three people and began checking the identities of the front-seat passengers. The rear passenger then exited the car and fired two shots at Officer Türkoğlu with a handgun.

The vehicle fled the scene. Police later detained the other two occupants. The shooter, identified in reports as Yusuf Eray Tekalan, turned the weapon on himself and suffered a critical head wound. He was hospitalized in serious condition; later accounts indicated he did not survive.

Ankara Governor Yakup Canbolat confirmed the sequence of events outside the hospital and expressed the state’s sorrow. “Kahraman polisimiz maalesef şehit oldu,” he said, offering condolences to the officer’s family and the nation.

Emniyet Genel Müdürü Ali Fidan issued an official statement mourning the loss: “Aziz şehidimize Allah’tan rahmet, kederli ailesine, Kahraman Emniyet Teşkilatımıza ve Milletimize başsağlığı ve sabır dilerim.” The Turkish National Police’s official account also posted a formal condolence message accompanied by Officer Türkoğlu’s photograph.

Investigations into the attack and the backgrounds of those involved are continuing.