The Dilan Polat detail in the Küçükçekmece attack

In this article, I will discuss two attacks that took place in Istanbul. One is the armed attack on Dilan Polat's workplace last October, and the other is the armed attack on the campaign event of AK Party Küçükçekmece Mayoral Candidate Aziz Yeniay this month... I actually mentioned the Küçükçekmece attack in my column last week. However, the Istanbul police investigating both incidents have found a connection. Here, while I explain the details of both attacks, I will also tell you about that connection.

An armed attack was carried out on the beauty center owned by Dilan Polat in Ataşehir, Istanbul, on the night of October 10, 2023. Numerous bullets hit the exterior of the beauty center. 

During the investigation at the scene, empty shell casings were collected and sent to the criminal department for analysis. The attackers had fled the scene. Dilan Polat and Engin Polat, who drew attention with their flamboyant lives and were detained by teams from the Financial Crimes Investigation Bureau as part of an investigation launched by the Istanbul Anatolian Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, were arrested and sent to prison on charges of "preventing the laundering of crime proceeds, and violating the Tax Procedure Law and the law on the regulation of betting and games of chance in football and other sports competitions."

When the date reached February 10, 2024, five attackers arrived in a vehicle without license plates in the Kanarya neighborhood of Küçükçekmece, Istanbul, and opened fire with long-barreled weapons and handguns. During the attack, Ebru Güneş Dumlu, who was walking on the street, was shot in the head with a long-barreled weapon and was seriously injured. At the time of the attack, AK Party's Küçükçekmece Mayoral Candidate Aziz Yeniay was conducting campaign activities at an association building. Following the attack, the Istanbul Police Department launched an investigation and detained 26 people, including the attackers who were in the vehicle.

In the examination conducted at the scene, 14 shell casings from 7.62 millimeter long-barreled weapons and 3 shell casings from 9 millimeter weapons were found, and 5 vehicles and 1 residence were hit by bullets.

This is where the Istanbul Police Department teams found a common link during their investigation. When the suspects were detained in the Küçükçekmece attack, the handguns and the long-barreled weapon they used in the incident were also seized. It turned out that the long-barreled weapon, which was taken to the Criminal Branch Directorate, had a criminal record. The long-barreled weapon that seriously injured 7-month-married Ebru Güneş Dumlu was revealed to be the same weapon used in the shooting of Dilan Polat's workplace on October 10, 2023.

Following this, the investigation proceeded in this direction. However, the suspects stated that they were not the ones who carried out the attack on Dilan Polat's workplace and that they had obtained these weapons from someone else. The suspects, whose interrogations were completed at the Public Security Branch Directorate's Murder Bureau, were referred to the Küçükçekmece Courthouse. 16 people, including the person named Serhat who used the long-barreled weapon, were arrested and sent to prison on charges of "attempted premeditated murder," "purchasing, carrying, or possessing weapons or ammunition that are serious in terms of number and quality," "establishing an organization for the purpose of committing a crime," and "being a member of an organization established for the purpose of committing a crime." Thus, the long-barreled weapon used in the attack on Dilan Polat's workplace was also seized. Now, the police are in pursuit of the attackers who carried out the attack that night.