The mother of the teacher who died in the massacre in Afyonkarahisar spoke: 'He went to school with enthusiasm, he was very idealistic'

Arif Sefa Özdemir, who killed 8 people and injured 2 people with a shotgun in Afyonkarahisar, was caught in Eskişehir last night and brought to the city.

It was stated that Özdemir, who killed the creditors who came to collect the money for the combine harvester he bought, continued to commit murder to steal vehicles on the escape route after the first attack.

AYŞE SENA, TEACHER'S MOTHER, LEARNED THE INCIDENT FROM TELEVISION

Hayrunissa Demir, the mother of Science Teacher Ayşe Sena Demir, who was killed by Arif Sefa Özdemir in Afyonkarahisar's İhsaniye district, and who lives in Antalya, said that she learned about the incident from television. Hayrunissa Demir said, "There was a subtitle on television about the incident in İhsaniye. The phone rang. The Principal called. I thought it was an extraordinary situation regarding the Principal's call. 'Principal, is there an incident?' I asked. "No, teacher Sena was involved in a minor accident," he said. And I said, 'I saw it on TV. A case of murder. I said, 'Not that.' The manager said, 'No, it has nothing to do with that.' But of course, fire broke out in me. "At first I believed it, then I realized the nature of the matter," he said.

'HE WENT TO SCHOOL WITH ENJOYMENT'

Hayrunnisa Demir said, "He was a teacher who went to school very enthusiastically, loved village schools, tried to enlighten the horizons of village children, constantly experimented on them and prepared for the lesson. He was very idealistic. When there was an emergency, when I called my child, he would never answer the phone. He would say, 'Mom, do not call during the lesson, no matter what.' Even though he was such an idealist and a teacher for years, he would go to the lesson prepared. He was a teacher for 15 years."

'HE WAS VERY HAPPY AT THE VILLAGE SCHOOL'

Demir said, "He graduated from Hacettepe as the top student of the semester. He was very happy in the village school. He said, 'I teach them how to sit, stand up, have good morals, and environmentalism, mom.' He wanted to be a pharmacy, but he thought it was a better profession than pharmacy. Because he thought he was doing something more useful. He was very idealistic in every sense, he was a truly exemplary teacher in terms of behavior, sitting, standing, honesty, justice. During the pandemic period, when he had paid for 3-4 courses that he could not attend during the trip, he called me and said, "He was a teacher who said, 'Mommy, you take this and give it to those in need, I don't take illicit money,'" he said.

'I WILL CONTINUE TEACHING IN HIS MEMORY'

Saying that her daughter had dreams, Hayrunissa Demir said, "She had dreams about the future of the children. She said that they were very smart children. She became an expert teacher and was very happy with teaching, she was a teacher who was very happy with the village and Afyon. She said, 'Mom, I am very happy here. When I come to Antalya, there is so much turmoil and confusion. I find time to think and contemplate there.' She would say, 'I am very happy there. I always teach them something and buy them gifts.' I left teaching last year. I could not get an education, "I have goals such as giving honorary lessons to children requiring special education, teaching reading and writing, and providing behavioral training. Of course, after such a brutal murder of my child, I will continue in his memory," he said.

'I DON'T THINK HE DIED AT ALL'

Demir said, "That attacker took down the teacher behind him. The teacher begged him, knelt on the ground, saying 'Don't kill me'. He said to them 'Get downstairs'. I think it was probably because my child didn't want to leave his friend behind. In other words, he could have stepped on it and maybe left. The religious studies teacher next to him doesn't get down either. I think it's probably because my daughter is not a child who betrays people, that friend of hers did this in order not to leave her friend there. He scans her from the outside. It enters from the side, shattering her lungs and heart. She remains dead. "He doesn't go to the hospital, they can't remove him during surgery, he dies from blood loss, I don't think he died at all," he said.

2 THEY WERE PLANNING TO GO TO IZMIR, WHERE THEY LIVE, LATER

On the other hand, it was learned that Seydi Ahmet Aydoğmuş (73) and Satı Aydoğmuş (68), who were killed by Arif Sefa Özdemir in Kıyır village, lived in Izmir and spent the summer months in their hometown. It was revealed that the couple went market shopping in Afyonkarahisar yesterday and were then attacked 1 kilometer away from their village. It was learned that the Aydoğmuş couple, who were planning to go to Izmir 2 days later, had 2 sons, 1 daughter and 8 grandchildren. A funeral ceremony will be held at noon prayer for the Kıyır couple, who are known as helpful and hospitable in their hometown.

'WHEN I WENT TO THE SCENE, I FACED THE LIFE BODY OF TWO PEOPLE.'

Kıyır Village Headman Lütfi Yaşar stated that he was at home on the day of the incident and said, "The weather was a little cold. While I was sitting at home, my phone rang. The caller said, 'Muhtar, there is a white vehicle on the road. A man and a woman are lying motionless in front of it. I think they are dead. I couldn't get close, so I turned back immediately.' I said to him, 'Don't approach them, I'm coming right away.' When I went to the scene, I saw a white minibus in the middle of the road and the lifeless bodies of two people in front of the vehicle. "At first we could not identify them, we thought they were foreigners, but later we learned that the deceased were our villagers Seydi Ahmet Aydoğmuş and his wife Satı Aydoğmuş."

'THE ATTACKER STOPPED THE COUPLE'S VEHICLE AND GOT AWAY'

Sharing the information they obtained about how the attack took place, Yaşar said, "According to the information we obtained, the attacker came to the region with his own vehicle, killed the Aydoğmuş couple, then stole their vehicle and left the scene. He left his own vehicle on the road with the doors open. Approximately 500-600 meters away, he encountered İsmail Şen, who was coming from Olukpınar village towards our village, and continued on his way after killing him. When we reached the scene, we closed the road to traffic to ensure security and immediately "We informed the gendarmerie," he said.

'I DO NOT THINK THEY HAVE HOSTILITY OR CREDIT ISSUES WITH ANYONE'

Stating that the Aydoğmuş couple who lost their lives were loved people in the village, Yaşar said, "Seydi Ahmet Aydoğmuş and his wife Satı Aydoğmuş were modest, self-contained people who did not harm anyone. I do not think they had any enmity or debt with anyone. I do not even think they had met the attacker before. They were living in Izmir, spending the summer months in their house in our village. They were going to return to Izmir soon. On the day of the incident, they went to Afyonkarahisar to meet the needs of their home. "They went there. After visiting their brother-in-law who lived there and doing their shopping, they set out to return to the village. Unfortunately, they lost their lives in this terrible attack, about 1 kilometer from our village."

HIS VEHICLE WAS ATTACKED

On the other hand, it was determined that the car of suspect Arif Sefa Özdemir, with plate number 03 ADR 900, parked in front of his house in Hasan Karaağaç District of Afyonkarahisar city center, was attacked by an unidentified person or persons late on March 17. It was learned that Özdemir, who contacted the police for help after the incident, declared that his vehicle was totaled and filed a complaint.

MARRIED AND DIVORCED 3 YEARS LATER

It was learned that the suspect Arif Sefa Özdemir lived in Bozhüyük village of İhsaniye district, got married in 2021 and divorced 3 years later. It was stated that the attacker, who was a farmer in the village and made his living this way, was the father of one child. It was noted that Özdemir's ex-wife and children were taken to another place. It was seen that security measures were taken by the gendarmerie in front of Özdemir's house.