Russia’s ambassador to Turkey has died after he was shot Monday evening at an art exhibition in the capital, Ankara, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in comments broadcast on Russian state television.
Ambassador Andrei Karlov was shot “multiple times” by an armed assailant as he was “delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of a photo exhibit,” Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
Special forces “neutralized” an assailant at the scene, Anadolu reported, without elaborating on what it meant by “neutralized,” the identity of the assailant or a possible motive.
Karlov was then transported to a hospital, according to Anadolu.
The attack happened at the opening of a photo exhibition titled, “Russia as Seen by the Turks,” according to Russia’s state-run TASS news agency.
The local Hurriyet newspaper posted an image of multiple people lying on the floor at what appears to be a gallery that it says is from the immediate aftermath of the attack. However, that hasn’t been officially confirmed.
Earlier, Zakharova said Karlov had been hospitalized with a gunshot wound.
Russia is a close ally of the neighboring Syrian regime and is involved in a wide-ranging airstrikes campaign in Syria.
U.S. State Department spokesperson John Kirby tweeted, “We condemn this act of violence, whatever its source. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.”
This is a developing story. Some things that get reported by the media will later turn out to be wrong. We will focus on reports from police officials and other authorities, credible news outlets and reporters who are at the scene. We will update as the situation develops.
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