Terror in Beyoğlu: Taxi driver robbed and shot in the head by passenger!

A chilling incident occurred around 00:00 midnight on Avşar Street in the Yenişehir neighborhood of Istanbul's Beyoğlu district. 53-year-old Ali Sancar, who had just started his shift, was behind the wheel of his taxi with license plate 34 TJZ 47. Allegedly, the person he picked up as a passenger suddenly pulled out a gun and fired at the taxi driver. Sancar, who was shot in the head, was critically injured.

After shooting the taxi driver, the assailant fled the scene with the money he had stolen. According to information obtained, while there was no cash in Sancar's vehicle, all the money he had on him was taken by the attacker.

RUSHED TO THE HOSPITAL IN CRITICAL CONDITION

Upon the notification of citizens who heard the gunshots, police and medical teams were dispatched to the scene in a short time. Ali Sancar, who was taken to Taksim Training and Research Hospital by ambulance, could not be saved despite all interventions. While police teams launched a large-scale operation to capture the assailant, crime scene investigation teams conducted detailed examinations on the taxi.

REACTION AND PROTEST FROM COLLEAGUES

Taxi drivers who received the tragic news were deeply saddened. Many taxi drivers gathered in front of the hospital, formed a convoy with their vehicles, and honked their horns. Later, the drivers gathered in front of the hospital again to protest the death of their colleague.

Speaking on behalf of the taxi drivers, Eyüp Berk expressed the desperation experienced by their profession with these words:

"We are very sad. Today, we lost another colleague to an issue we have been fighting against for years and which we do not approve of at all. We are sad; I wish him God's mercy, his family condolences, and patience to those left behind. We are in a very difficult situation; the profession is becoming increasingly untenable day by day. We lost a brother the other day. Today, we received news that a 16-year-old child attacked another colleague of ours from behind with a knife. In the evening, we were confronted with the lifeless body of our brother Ali. We are tired of burying our colleagues one by one. Every time we say 'let this be the last,' it is not the last."

“WHEN THE DOOR OPENS, WILL WE BE ATTACKED?”

While describing the fear experienced by taxi drivers, Eyüp Berk emphasized that their families are also now deeply anxious:

"Our families have started to pressure us. As these death reports increase, they tell us, 'Quit this job, don't do it anymore.' Our children look into our eyes when we leave the house, wondering if we will be able to return home safe and sound. Our wives call us 10 times a day to ask about our situation; our parents have started to send us off with prayers. We have started to become afraid day by day because we don't know who the people we pick up are. When a passenger hails us, we think, 'Should we pick them up or not?' We have forgotten the 'hello' or 'good morning' of the person getting into the car; we have only one question in our minds: 'When the door opens, will this person attack me or not?' We are truly very sad. We are here tonight; may God have mercy on brother Ali again. Our condolences to all our colleagues."