Istanbul nightclub massacre gunman ‘arrested’

Risingbd Desk: The man suspected of carrying out the New Year's Day shooting at an Istanbul nightclub has been arrested, according to local media.

Abdulkadir Masharipov is believed to have opened fire at Reina nightclub, killing 39 and wounding 69 others.

According to local TV, the Uzbek national was arrested after a raid on a home in the Istanbul's Esenyurt district.

He was reportedly found with his four-year-old son.

Masharipov underwent medical checks before being taken to a police station for questioning, Hurriyet newspaper reports.

Turkish news channel NTV said police had established the suspect's whereabouts four days ago, but delayed the raid so they could monitor his movements.

Following the arrest, foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu thanked police and security organisations "who caught the Reina attacker in the name of the people".

At the time of the massacre, the nightclub was packed with up to 600 revellers celebrating the New Year.

CCTV footage showed a man shooting dead policeman Burak Yildiz and travel agent Ayhan Arik at the front of the venue, before entering and firing 120 bullets at party-goers.

Witnesses described diving under tables during the attack, while one reveller told how she had to lift dead bodies off her to escape the building.

People from Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Iraq and Morocco were among the victims.

Source: Agencies

risingbd/Jan 17, 2017/Mukul