Cousin of father who murdered his family speaks out: 'He was a person at peace with life'

Mehmet Buruk, the cousin of Ahmet Demir — the father in Gaziantep who shot and killed his 30-year-old wife Emine Demir, his 5-year-old daughter Azra, his 4-year-old son Yusuf Eymen, his 11-year-old daughter Medine, and his 6-year-old daughter Edanur before turning the gun on himself — has spoken out about the incident.

"THIS HAPPENED BECAUSE HE HAD NOT BEEN TAKING HIS MEDICATION PROPERLY"

Cousin Mehmet Buruk, who said that Ahmet Demir had been receiving psychological treatment for approximately a year and a half, stated: "He is a barber. He was taking medication after psychological treatment. He probably had not been taking his medication properly lately, and that is why these events occurred. We also knew that Ahmet had been struggling recently. When he did not take his medication properly, he must have had a breakdown, which led him to end the lives of his four children, his wife, and himself."

"WE NEVER WOULD HAVE EXPECTED IT"

Stating that they never expected Ahmet Demir to carry out such an act, Buruk said: "Ahmet had no arguments within the family, he had no problems. He was only dealing with psychological issues. He was a good person.

"It would never have crossed our minds that he would do something like this. He was a man at peace with life. He was devout — he kept his ablutions, his prayers, his worship. He owed nothing to anyone. Financially, both he and his family were doing well," he said.