Individual armament is on the rise: 2,607 armed attacks and 1,616 deaths in 9 months

Melik ÇELİK - 12punto.com.tr

The Umut Foundation organized an event on September 28, Individual Disarmament Day. Speaking at the event, Umut Foundation Board Member and Psychiatrist Ayhan Akcan announced data and statistics regarding the acquisition of licensed and unlicensed weapons in Turkey.

According to the data, 2,607 armed violence incidents were reported in the press in Turkey up to September 25, 2023. In these 2,607 armed violence incidents reflected in the press, 1,616 people died and 2,675 people were injured.

In 385 of these incidents, bladed weapons were used; in 549, various types of rifles, including Kalashnikov long-barreled weapons, were used; in 1,672 (70 of which were service weapons), various types of pistols were used; and in one incident, a bomb was used.

In the ranking of the top provinces where armed violence occurred most frequently in 2023, Bursa and Kocaeli shared fifth place with 104 incidents each, while Urfa and Antalya shared eighth place with 75 incidents. The top 10 provinces were as follows:

1-Istanbul : 334

2-Samsun : 154

3-Adana : 126

4-Izmir : 117

5-Bursa : 104

Kocaeli : 104

6-Sakarya : 102

7-Urfa : 75

Antalya : 75

8-Diyarbakir : 72

9-Ankara : 70

10-Gaziantep: 67

85 PERCENT OF CRIMES COMMITTED WITH FIREARMS

It is noted that while a total of 1,400 incidents were reported in the press in the 12 cities that entered the "Top 10 cities" ranking for armed violence, 1,207 incidents occurred in the other 69 cities.

According to the data announced by the Umut Foundation, 53.70 percent (1,400 incidents) of the 2,607 armed violence incidents reported in the press between January 1 and September 15 occurred in Istanbul, Samsun, Adana, Izmir, Bursa, Kocaeli, Sakarya, Urfa, Antalya, Diyarbakir, Ankara, and Gaziantep. 46.30 percent occurred in the other 69 provinces. Stating that firearms were used in more than 85 percent of armed violence incidents, Akcan said that human life was threatened with bladed weapons in approximately 15 percent of them.

THERE ARE 4 MILLION LICENSED AND 36 MILLION UNLICENSED WEAPONS

According to data obtained by the Umut Foundation from the General Directorate of Security and the Turkish Statistical Institute, the ratio of licensed to unlicensed weapon usage is distributed as 10 to 90. In some years, this ratio can be 15-85. According to official figures, there are approximately 4 million licensed weapons in Turkey. According to the data, the number of unlicensed weapons reaches 36 million.

In his statement, Akcan said that according to experts' estimates, the number of armed and unarmed violence incidents and the number of people who are victims of violence are much higher than the figures reported in the press.

VIOLENCE INCREASES EVERY YEAR

In 2019, 3,623 armed incidents were reported in the press across Turkey. It was observed that in 2,867 of these armed incidents, firearms (1,465 pistols, including 1,402 of various rifles and 132 service weapons) were used, while in 756, all kinds of bladed and piercing tools were used. In the 3,623 armed violence incidents reported in the press in 2019, 2,211 people died and 3,736 people were injured.

According to 2020 statistics, 3,682 armed incidents were reported in the press across Turkey. It was observed that in 3,128 of these armed incidents, firearms (1,303 rifles, 1,825 pistols) were used, while in 554, bladed and piercing tools were used... In the 3,682 armed violence incidents reported in the press in 2020, 2,040 people died and 3,688 people were injured.

In 2021, 3,801 armed violence incidents were reported in the local and national press. In these 3,801 incidents reported in the press across Turkey, 2,145 people died and 3,896 people, some seriously, were injured. Firearms were used in 3,172 of the incidents, and bladed weapons were used in 629.

In 2022, 3,984 armed violence incidents were reported in the media. In the armed violence incidents that occurred across the country, 2,278 people were killed, 4

News Source: Melik Çelik