Sister of Tuncer Cihan, who lost his life in the church attack, speaks out: 'He was 80 percent mentally disabled'

An armed attack was carried out on the Santa Maria Italian Church in Sarıyer, Istanbul, during Sunday mass.

Tuncer Murat Cihan lost his life in the armed attack carried out by two masked individuals. While the two murder suspects were apprehended, 47 people were taken into custody in connection with the incident.

Özlem Cihan, the sister of the deceased Cihan, spoke to Hürriyet as follows:

“Tuncer was 80 percent mentally disabled; even the doctor said he was an 'angel' when issuing the report. He had the mind of a 5-year-old child. He was a Muslim, retired, and single. He was living with my mother. Today, he had come to this church, which he had been attending for 2 months. The congregation loved him very much, too. He would spend time at the church and eat there. They killed someone who was like an angel. We haven't been able to tell my mother yet; the poor woman thinks her child is going to have foot surgery.”

A local shopkeeper at the scene stated that he had spoken with church staff and relayed the information that “They said the attackers first fired at the walls, and that the person who died was shot after reacting to the attackers.”

News Source: 12punto