An 18-year-old teenager, identified as Arda K., shocked Turkey on Monday when he randomly stabbed five people near a mosque in Eskisehir, northern Turkey. The attacker was wearing a helmet, a neo-Nazi-styled bullet-proof vest with a 'black sun' symbol, safety goggles, gloves, and a skull half-mask. The entire rampage was live-streamed on social media through a camera attached to his vest.
The victims, who had been relaxing at an open-air café after prayers, were attacked from behind, with many of them being elderly men. The assailant was detained following a police chase, and footage showed him being bundled into a police vehicle.
Two of the wounded individuals were in serious condition and all five were hospitalized. The suspect was also carrying an ax but did not use it during the attack. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya confirmed that an investigation had begun and revealed that the suspect was believed to have been influenced by a video game, dressing like a video game character.
Yerlikaya shared images of the suspect's possessions, including a bloodied knife, a second knife with a swastika symbol and the letters 'KKK,' and the suspect in handcuffs lying face down on the floor. The minister expressed his wishes for a speedy recovery to the victims of the attack.
