Employee In ICU After Being Shot At Swedish Consulate In Turkish City Of Izmir

A Turkish citizen working at the Swedish Honorary Consulate in Izmir, Turkey, was shot in the chest and leg this Tuesday, August 1.

‘I strongly condemn the armed attack carried out in the Swedish Consulate building in İzmir. I wish a speedy recovery to our citizen who was injured in the attack’, said Yılmaz Tunç, Turkish Minister of Justice.

He added: ‘The necessary judicial investigation has been launched to shed light on this sad event. The Republic of Turkey is within its borders. It is also the protector of the rights and law of the operating missions, and our security forces are the guarantee of its peace’.

İzmir'de bulunan İsveç Fahri Konsolosluğu binasında gerçekleştirilen silahlı saldırıyı şiddetle kınıyorum.

Saldırıda yaralanan vatandaşımıza Allah'tan acil şifalar temenni ediyorum.

Bu elim hadisenin aydınlatılması ile ilgili gerekli adli soruşturma başlatılmıştır.

Türkiye…

— Yılmaz TUNÇ (@yilmaztunc) August 1, 2023

According to the information provided by Habertürk İzmir Representative Gülçin Hacıevliyagil Ayçe, the attack took place at around midday at the Swedish-Norwegian Honorary Consulate in the Alsancak district.

The gunman apparently went to process a visa

The assailant reportedly attended the facility to process a visa. When he did not receive the reply he was hoping for he pulled out a gun and opened fire, injuring a female employee, as reported by haberturk.com.

Named in a statement issued by the Izmir Governor’s Office as Emine T, it said the worker was injured as the result of an armed attack by a mentally disabled man with the initials ZO, in front of the building on Cumhuriyet Boulevard. The suspect was subsequently detained, his weapon confiscated, and he was taken into custody by the police.

The female officer working at the consulate was injured first in the chest and then in the leg. She was immediately transferred to the Tepecik Training and Research Hospital, where she remains in the intensive care unit.

Today’s incident is not believed to be in any way connected with the ongoing situation surrounding Sweden’s application to join NATO.

During a historical meeting in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius in July, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan finally agreed to ratify the bid by Stockholm to join the Alliance. 

He was attending a summit in the city when he met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson when he agreed to the deal.