Russian Ambassador Assassinated at Ankara Art Gallery
Russian ambassador Andrey Karlov was assassinated on December 19, 2016, at the Çankaya Belediyesi Çağdaş Sanatlar Merkezi in Ankara, Turkey. The assailant, 22-year-old Turkish riot police officer Mert Altintas, shot Karlov at point-blank range during a speech at the opening of the photography exhibition "La Russia vista dai turchi" (Russia Seen by Turks), organized by the group The Travellers of Ankara. Altintas shouted "We die in Aleppo, you die here" before being killed by Turkish special forces. Three others were wounded. The attack occurred amid heightened tensions over Russia's involvement in Syria. Separately, a truck attack on a Berlin Christmas market was reported the same evening, and the US Embassy in Ankara issued a security alert.
Key facts
- Russian ambassador Andrey Karlov assassinated in Ankara on December 19, 2016
- Assailant Mert Altintas, 22, was a Turkish riot police officer
- Attack occurred at Çankaya Belediyesi Çağdaş Sanatlar Merkezi cultural center
- Karlov was speaking at the opening of photography exhibition 'La Russia vista dai turchi'
- Exhibition organized by The Travellers of Ankara group
- Altintas shouted 'We die in Aleppo, you die here' before shooting
- Three other people wounded in the attack
- Altintas was killed by Turkish special forces
Entities
Artists
- The Travellers of Ankara
Institutions
- Çankaya Belediyesi Çağdaş Sanatlar Merkezi
- Artribune
Locations
- Ankara
- Turkey
- Aleppo
- Syria
- Berlin
- Germany