Fatih Mosque Imam attacked with a knife inside the mosque

At Fatih Mosque, a suspect identified as Ö.S., who caused a disturbance during prayer, was removed from the mosque by private security guards.

ASSAILANT TAKEN INTO CUSTODY

After the prayer, the suspect entered the imam's office and, after stating that he wanted to speak with Usta, stabbed the imam and B.E., a member of the mosque congregation who tried to intervene.

Upon notification, police and medical teams were dispatched to the area. The injured were taken to the hospital by medical personnel. The assailant was taken into custody.

GOVERNOR'S OFFICE ISSUED A STATEMENT

The statement issued by the Istanbul Governor's Office included the following:

“On 08.01.2024, at approximately 19.15, an individual named Ö.S. caused a disturbance inside Fatih Mosque by shouting slogans. Fatih Mosque Imam Galip Usta warned the individual and asked him to leave. During this time, the individual named Ö.S. stabbed Galip Usta and Bilal Erdem.

While the individual was apprehended and taken into custody by security guards following the incident, Galip Usta and Bilal Erdem were taken under treatment at the hospital they were transported to. The two injured individuals are not in life-threatening condition.”

STATEMENT FROM ÖMER ÇELİK

Making a statement regarding the incident, AKP spokesperson Ömer Çelik said, "We learned with sadness of the heinous attack on Istanbul Fatih Mosque Imam Galip Usta and Bilal Erdem from the mosque congregation. Our security forces and judicial authorities have taken action regarding the incident, and the responsible person has been apprehended. On this occasion, we convey our best wishes for a speedy recovery to Galip Hodja and our injured citizen. We condemn the attack."

İstanbul Fatih Camii İmamı Galip Usta’ya ve cami cemaatinden Bilal Erdem’e yönelik menfur saldırıyı üzülerek öğrendik.

Hadiseyle ilgili emniyet güçlerimiz ve adli makamlar harekete geçmiş, sorumlu kişi yakalanmıştır.

Bu vesileyle Galip hocaya ve yaralı vatandaşımıza geçmiş…

— Ömer Çelik (@omerrcelik) January 8, 2024

HEALTH STATUS OF THE INJURED

Bezmialem Vakıf University Chief Physician Prof. Dr. Alpaslan Mayadağlı made a statement on the matter.

Emphasizing that the patient's trachea suffered a serious injury, Mayadağlı said, "However, the patient's health status is stable. He was brought to the hospital very quickly; if an effective intervention had not been performed in time, we would have had a very high risk of losing our patient. It is a great advantage that it did not hit the esophagus. I think we will get through an attack of this severity very cheaply."

Chief Physician Mayadağlı stated that the patient received 3 stab wounds and noted the following:

"He received blows to the neck and chest area. The intervention for the blow to the trachea is being performed. Unfortunately, he received a major blow to the neck. Bleeding and injuries are under our control. Vital parameters are in our patient's favor; we have no life-threatening danger. We think that we will emerge from these injuries without any problems as a result of the interventions. Everything necessary is being done by our hospital."

Here is the assailant:

News Source: AA