Six men in court over Güzelyurt violence
SIX men have appeared before court after an argument in Güzelyurt ended up with two people being shot.
Suspects Nevzat Volkan, Yılmaz Tip, Evrim Şengül, Eren Gür, Şükrü Özipek and Mert Özdemir, who were arrested on charges of “attempted murder”, “grievous bodily harm” and “discharging a firearm in a residential area”, were brought before Güzelyurt District Court on Tuesday amid tight security.
During the hearing that was presided over by Judge Özge Uğraşın, Assistant Police Inspector Andım Baytunç, who works at the Güzelyurt Police Department, was called to present the facts of the case.
Baytunç testified that the incident began when a man called Türkeş Tüm entered a venue called “Walk of Fame” on Ecevit Caddesi in Güzelyurt at around 11pm last Sunday where Volkan, Tip and Şengül were sitting at a table, and said to them, “What’s up you sons of bitches, what are you looking at you clowns” and picked up a chair.
Baytunç explained that Volkan, Tip and Şengül stepped out in front of Limasol Bank and then returned, with Volkan and Tip in possession of a gun.
The Assistant Police Inspector told the court that suspect Volkan fired two shots with a gun held in his right hand “with the intent of killing”, hitting Tamer Özdaş Tüm, 50, in the left groin and Taner Özdaş Tüm, 43, in the left leg, inflicting “serious harm”.
Baytunç told the court that the two gunshot victims were taken to Lefkoşa Dr Burhan Nalbantoğlu State Hospital and placed under observation in the orthopaedics ward after treatment.
He added that two empty bullet casings, a bullet cartridge, blood samples and security camera footage were taken as evidence from the crime scene.
Baytunç requested that the suspects, who were arrested on Monday, be remanded in custody for an additional three days while the police continue with their “multifaceted investigation”. The court granted the request.
Separately, Cyprus Today’s Turkish-language sister newspaper Kıbrıs reported that a third person suffered a cut to his right arm during the incident when another person was “waving around a knife haphazardly to frighten those around him”.
POLICE OFFICER UNDER INVESTIGATION
Meanwhile another person was injured in a bizarre incident at the Güzelyurt Health Centre, where the gunshot victims were initially treated.
A statement issued by the police said that a police officer who had been sent to the health centre to help maintain security against a “crowd that had formed inside” was pushed by the crowd, “causing the pistol he was holding to fire” and resulting in a 23year-old male being wounded in his left thumb and both legs.
The injured person was taken to Lefkoşa Dr Burhan Nalbantoğlu State Hospital for treatment. A statement from the police said: “The Police General Directorate wishes a speedy recovery to the person injured as a result of this extremely sad event, which happened unintentionally.
“It is our greatest consolation that there was no loss of life in the incident and that no other person was harmed.
“We are investigating the incident . . . from an administrative point of view with great care. If the police officer in question is found to have acted with negligence, then no-one should have any doubt that the necessary legal action will be taken against him.”