A photographer with the Associated Press who witnessed Monday’s assassination of the Russian ambassador to Turkey said he initially believed the gunman’s weapon was just intended for dramatic effect.
In a first-person account for the AP, Burhan Ozbilici recounted how he captured the moment on camera.
“The event was routine enough — the opening of an exhibit of photographs of Russia — and when a man on stage pulled out a gun I thought it was a theatrical flourish,” he said.
Ozbilici said the man shot the Russian ambassador to Turkey several times and smashed some of the frames holding art at the exhibit. The gunman, he said, also shouted “Allahu akbar.”
“Guests ran for cover, hiding behind columns and under tables,” said Ozbilici. “I composed myself enough to shoot pictures.”
Ozbilici’s photos of the gunman have gone viral on social media.
Andrei Karlov, the Russian ambassador, died Monday. He was at the gallery delivering a speech when the gunman opened fire on him.
The gunman was killed in a subsequent shootout with Turkish police.
