At least 35 people were killed and dozens wounded when a gunman dressed as Santa Claus opened fire in a crowded Istanbul nightclub on New Year’s Eve, according to officials and reports.
Turkey’s state-run news agency said as many as 600 people were partying at the Reina nightclub in Istanbul’s Ortakoy district when the assailant started firing randomly inside the building.
The nightclub hugs the banks of the Bosphorus Strait on the European side. Some revelers jumped into the water to escape the gunfire and were being rescued by police, NTV said.
Vasip Sahin, governor of the Istanbul province, described the shooting as a “terror attack.”
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Turkish journalist Ürün Dirier tweeted what is reportedly footage from inside the club.
It appears to show a man making his way across the nightclub floor surrounded by debris.
Footage from the scene showed at least six ambulances with flashing lights and a chaotic scene as revelers screamed for help.
Policemen secure the area after a gun attack on Reina, a popular night club in Istanbul.
(STR/EPA)Security measures have been heightened in major Turkish cities during the New Year’s Eve celebrations, with police barring traffic near key squares in Istanbul and the capital Ankara.
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More than 17,000 police officers were on duty in Istanbul.
Some of the cops were camouflaged as Santa Claus and others as street vendors, according to Anadolu, a state-run press agency.
Footage from the scene shows at least six ambulances rushed to the club.
(STR/EPA)Ankara and Istanbul have been targeted by several attacks in 2016 carried out by the Islamic State group or Kurdish rebels, killing more than 180 people.
With News Wire Services
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