A Turkish woman working as a secretary at the Swedish honorary consulate found herself the victim of a shooting in the western province of Izmir, Turkey on Tuesday. The woman was gravely injured in the incident, according to official reports and media outlets.
The local governor’s office, while not specifically mentioning the consulate, indicated that the violent event occurred in Izmir’s Konak district in the early hours of the day. The suspect in the incident, believed to suffer from mental health issues, has been apprehended by local authorities.
Prominent Turkish broadcaster, NTV, reported that the shooting took place outside the Swedish honorary consulate. As a result of the attack, the secretary is reportedly in a critical state.
The governor’s office has confirmed that Turkish authorities have detained the attacker and launched a thorough investigation into the incident.
Unlike regular consulates, honorary consulates represent foreign countries’ interests but are managed by individuals who are not career diplomats.
In response to the incident, the Swedish Foreign Ministry stated that the consul general would travel to Izmir on Wednesday to gather further details. It also mentioned maintaining open dialogue with the consulate general in Istanbul and Swedish staff stationed in Turkey.
However, the Ministry declined to make any further comment regarding threats to diplomatic services or the security measures being implemented, asserting that such disclosures might undermine the effectiveness of said measures.
Yilmaz Tunc, the Turkish Justice Minister, strongly condemned the attack via a post on the messaging platform X, previously known as Twitter, while confirming that a criminal investigation into the incident had been initiated.
Image Credit: Tarik Haiga on Unsplash
