A disturbing video has surfaced depicting a man pursuing his former wife inside a hospital in southern Turkey before fatally shooting her in the head.
The footage, acquired by NewsX, captures the harrowing moment when Atilla Ayintapli, 44, fired at his ex-wife, Eser Karaca, 42, at the private hospital where she worked as a medical secretary. Karaca, a mother of two, had recently obtained a restraining order against him.
In the CCTV recording from May, Ayintapli is seen entering the office armed with a shotgun. Upon noticing him, Karaca tries to flee to a nearby room with a colleague, but he relentlessly follows them as shocked bystanders run in the opposite direction.
In a heartbreaking scene, Karaca raises her hands in a futile bid to shield herself from the attack. Despite her efforts, Ayintapli continues firing at her motionless body, as per reports from the Mirror US.
Following the tragic incident, Ayintapli fled while Karaca’s devastated colleagues rushed to her aid, horrified by the scene. Despite being rushed to the hospital’s emergency room where she worked, Karaca succumbed to her injuries.
Authorities disclosed that Karaca had sought a restraining order on the day of the shooting after enduring stalking and past abuse from Ayintapli. Tragically, her ex-husband shot her just before the order could be served.
Turkish law enforcement promptly apprehended Ayintapli, who was subsequently arrested. He faces charges for Karaca’s murder and for menacing her colleague with a weapon.
During interrogation, Ayintapli confessed to the crime and is now awaiting trial after being taken to court. Prosecutors are advocating for a life sentence based on the charges against him.
Femicides, the deliberate killing of women and girls because of their gender, have become a concerning issue in Turkey, with a recent court ruling in August stirring controversy. The ruling stipulated that a man may receive a reduced sentence for murdering a woman if she “provoked him by refusing to have sex.”
This verdict has sparked outrage, with activists and legal experts cautioning that it could set a dangerous precedent, shedding light on systemic flaws in Turkey’s legal handling of femicide.