A Turkey man has been detained in the Ukrainian Consulate General in Istanbul after threatening diplomats with a handgun and bomb. The attack was triggered by a row with his Ukrainian wife.
The man tried to force his way into the consulate on Tuesday morning. He threatened guards with a box, which had some wires sticking out of it, saying it was a bomb. He also fired several random shots with a pistol he had with him, reports RIA Novosti agency.
Later, Turkish TV channel NTV gave the attacker’s name as Volkan Ozbudak, 29. He received an injury from police as they overpowered him, and died several hours later in hospital.
The attack had neither political nor terrorist motives, says Interfax agency, citing a statement of Istanbul’s governor, Muammer Guler. Rather it was triggered by a family quarrel between the man and his wife, who is of Ukrainian descent and returned from Ukraine shortly before the incident.
There were no reports as to whether the box Ozbudak had was a real bomb or a fake.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister has called for a step-up in security in the consulate.