Following the statement of the attacker Arif Sefa Özdemir, who was caught in Eskişehir, where he fled after killing 8 people and wounding 1 person with a gun in Afyonkarahisar, the statement of the prosecutor's office was also obtained.
In his statement to the prosecutor's office at the Afyonkarahisar Courthouse, the suspect Özdemir claimed that he was drunk and unconscious at the time of the incident.
Özdemir stated that there was a debt issue between him and Noman Toprak and this issue was the reason for the incident; He described his meeting with Noman Toprak, Bekir Toprak and Ahmet Uzel as follows:
"While going to these people, I bought cartridges for the car. I also took my unlicensed rifle, which I bought from my villager Mustafa A, about a month ago, into the car. On the other hand, I was drinking alcohol in the car. I bought cigarettes, alcohol and energy drinks from the liquor store near the petrol station. I continued to drink alcohol while going to these people. When I went to these people, his brother Bekir asked me how I would pay the debt. I told him that I had sent 1000 euros by bank transfer a month ago and that I had a debt of 2 thousand euros. Bekir and Ahmet responded to this. He objected and said, 'There is no such payment.' Bekir said, 'What are you talking about? Go to his father.' Then I decided to kill them and take them to a deserted area under the pretext of a field.
Arif Sefa Özdemir, who claimed that there was an argument between them again and that they were cursed at where they went, said, "I shot the three cartridges in my pocket. First, I shot once from the driver's side of the vehicle and the front passenger area. Then I shot the person in the back. When I realized that the person in the back was not dead and had put his hand in his pocket, I went to the side of the vehicle facing the field and fired another shot, thinking he had a gun." he declared.
Describing the escape process after the first incident, Özdemir said, "I called my father on the road and said, 'Dad, I couldn't stand it, they kept swearing. I killed all three of them.' My father told me to surrender. I said I would run away." he said.
ESCAPE DIRECTION WAS KÜTAHYA
Özdemir, the attacker, stated that he threw his phone away and blocked an oncoming vehicle to avoid being followed while driving in the direction of the coast, and continued as follows:
"I stopped them with my vehicle and explained the situation. I told them that I had killed three people. I wanted to take their vehicles. While I was trying to take the bucket containing the cartridges from the transit, the elderly man held the tip of the gun. When his wife tried to hold the gun, I ran back and shot each of them, killing them, and ran away by getting into their vehicle. A vehicle appeared in front of me on the road, I scraped the fender of the oncoming vehicle. We came face to face. When the person in the vehicle saw the gun on the seat and said he would call the police, I fired a shot. And I killed this person. About 10 minutes later, we encountered a truck on the road. As the driver did not notice me, I crossed in front of the truck. Then I parked my vehicle in front of them, about 300 meters away, and shot them three times or more. Then I continued on my way to Kütahya. "I decided to go and came towards Afyonkarahisar."
"I WAS NOT GOING TO DO ANYTHING AT FIRST, BUT THEN I DECIDED TO CHANGE THE CAR"
Explaining that while he was driving towards Kütahya, he stopped on the right and a car driven by a female driver approached behind the vehicle, Özdemir said, "I wasn't going to do anything at first. But then I decided to change the car. Since she was a female driver, I got out unarmed at first and asked her to give me the vehicle. When I saw that she was recording a video with a phone in her hand, I took the rifle and shot her. I continued on the road to Kütahya with that vehicle."
"I STARTED COUNTING BACKWARDS FROM 10 AND 5 TO SCARE"
Stating that he decided to change vehicles again while continuing on the side roads, Arif Sefa Özdemir said:
"I blocked the oncoming vehicle. I told them that my vehicle was broken down and asked for help. The woman sitting in the passenger seat got out of the vehicle and came to me. I told her that I had committed a crime and that they should hand over their vehicle to me. Then I headed towards the driver's seat. At this time, I did not have a gun in my hand. I talked for 2-3 minutes and said that I would just take the car. I told the driver that I had killed someone. I told them to open the door or I would shoot. They were calling the police on the phone. They were calling the police from 10 and 5 to scare them. "I started counting correctly. When I saw that he did not leave the phone, I shot one hand at the one in front and the other one at the back. I did not take this vehicle because there was a dead person inside."
HE MADE A PLAN FOR A NEW WEAPON
Suspect Özdemir stated that he blocked another vehicle 1-2 kilometers away and said, "The owner of the vehicle and his wife got out of the vehicle. I explained the situation. Then I took the rifle and walked towards them. I said that I would only take their vehicle. I took the bucket containing the cartridges from the red vehicle. Then I continued with the vehicle. I moved towards the direction of Sarıcıoğlu. Since the vehicle I hijacked had a card, it stopped automatically after passing a certain kilometer." he said.
Stating that he saw people picking mushrooms a little further away and took their car keys by force, Özdemir said that he continued towards Seyitgazi with this vehicle, and when he saw a village on the left when he reached the main road, he made a plan to get a new gun.
The suspect explained that he changed vehicles while searching the headman's house:
"I saw a vehicle on the road. I approached the young people in the vehicle. I said, 'Young people, are you drinking alcohol?' They said, 'No, commander'. I liked that they thought I was a soldier, so I did not correct them. I said, 'We are looking for someone here,' and told them that it was a problematic vehicle and that they should hand over the vehicle. I could not start the vehicle. After the owner of the vehicle described it to me, I took the vehicle and went away."
He went to the village and told the headman, "There is a complaint about you. I come from Ankara." Emphasizing that he asked for his gun, the headman got angry and did not give it to him, Özdemir stated that when he left there, he saw patrols on the road and ran away and his car got stuck in the mud.
The suspect, who said that he started looking for a vehicle when it got dark, said that he stole the last vehicle he found without being seen by anyone, and was caught when he got to the main road.
Arif Sefa Özdemir said, "I committed these actions with the courage given by alcohol. I regret it very much. I had no enmity with others except the first three people I killed. I lost myself, I did not know what I was doing. I did not shoot at the gendarmerie teams. I do not know how the gendarmerie was injured. I do not accept that I injured them." he said.
