 A taxi driver ties a black ribbon to his car to protest the killing. DHA photo |
A taxi driver in Istanbul’s Anatolian side district of Üsküdar was shot dead during work Saturday night, news agencies reported.
Kenan Önal was reportedly shot three times, once in the back and twice in the neck, in the district’s İcadiye neighborhood.
Local residents noticed the bloodied driver at his taxi and quickly called the police and medical units. The 54-year-old taxi driver was hospitalized but later succumbed to his injuries.
Residents of the neighborhood said they heard no gunshots and did not see any suspect escaping the scene, Doğan news agency reported.
Önal, a married father of three, had been a taxi driver for 33 years. Only 50 Turkish Liras was found on his body after he was killed because he had only begun working his Saturday night shift, the agency reported.
After hearing of his death, Önal’s colleagues at the Balıklı Rum Hospital taxi stand tied black ribbons onto their cars as a memorial.
Protest from taxi drivers
Many drivers from both the Anatolian and European districts of Istanbul gathered in front of Haydarpaşa Numune Hospital, where Önal was hospitalized, after they heard about the incident.
Afterwards, roughly 300 taxi drivers protested the event, closing down parts of Kadıköy district to traffic and carrying banners saying, “5 bullets for 5 Liras” and “Let children not lose their fathers.”
Memduh Çırak, head of the United Taxi Drivers’ Association, said drivers hoped that vehicles with a bulletproof section for operators would soon be made available to prevent further incidents of robbery or murder.
Kenan Önal was reportedly shot three times, once in the back and twice in the neck, in the district’s İcadiye neighborhood.
Local residents noticed the bloodied driver at his taxi and quickly called the police and medical units. The 54-year-old taxi driver was hospitalized but later succumbed to his injuries.
Residents of the neighborhood said they heard no gunshots and did not see any suspect escaping the scene, Doğan news agency reported.
Önal, a married father of three, had been a taxi driver for 33 years. Only 50 Turkish Liras was found on his body after he was killed because he had only begun working his Saturday night shift, the agency reported.
After hearing of his death, Önal’s colleagues at the Balıklı Rum Hospital taxi stand tied black ribbons onto their cars as a memorial.
Protest from taxi drivers
Many drivers from both the Anatolian and European districts of Istanbul gathered in front of Haydarpaşa Numune Hospital, where Önal was hospitalized, after they heard about the incident.
Afterwards, roughly 300 taxi drivers protested the event, closing down parts of Kadıköy district to traffic and carrying banners saying, “5 bullets for 5 Liras” and “Let children not lose their fathers.”
Memduh Çırak, head of the United Taxi Drivers’ Association, said drivers hoped that vehicles with a bulletproof section for operators would soon be made available to prevent further incidents of robbery or murder.
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