An 18-year-old injured at least five people at random, apparently under the influence of a video game.
Turkish police have arrested a teenager who stabbed at least five people at a mosque in the northwest of the country on Monday.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said Tuesday that an investigation had been opened, but he did not specify the motive for the attack in the city of Eskisehir. Local media speculated that the attack, livestreamed by the teenager, may have been influenced by a video game.
The assailant, who was wearing a helmet and bulletproof vest, attacked a mosque’s tea garden and was apprehended after a police chase, according to the Eskisehir governorate.
The 18-year-old suspect, identified as Arda K, live-streamed the attack on X, local media reported.
Five injured people were hospitalized, two of them in serious condition, Anadolu news agency reported. Other media reported seven injured.
Haberturk and other media outlets reported that the attacker was influenced by a video game.
In addition to his bulletproof vest and helmet, images released showed him wearing goggles over a mask, completely obscuring his face. News sites said he wore a “black sun,” a Nazi symbol made up of several swastikas, on his chest.
He also carried an axe at his waist but did not appear to have used it, according to local media.
The attacker did not shout or express any motivation for his actions, the Cumhuriyet daily reported, adding that his appearance suggested he was “influenced by war games.”
Like other countries, Turkey has been hit by a wave of random knife attacks in recent months.
A man stabbed two people to death last month in the eastern province of Bingol, injuring seven others, local media reported.
In January, a man was arrested after attacking the imam and a member of the congregation of the Fatih Mosque in Istanbul.
