Witness to an assassination: AP photographer captures attack
By BURHAN OZBILICI, Associated Press
Dec 19, 2016 2:09 PM CST
A child is held after the the Russian Ambassador to Turkey, Andrei Karlov, was shot at a photo gallery in Ankara, Turkey, Monday, Dec. 19, 2016. A gunman opened fire on Russia's ambassador to Turkey at a photo exhibition on Monday. The Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman said he was hospitalized...   (Associated Press)

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The event was routine enough — the opening of an exhibit of photographs of Russia — and when a man on stage pulled out a gun I thought it was a theatrical flourish.

It was anything but. Moments later the Russian ambassador was sprawled on the floor and the attacker was waving his gun at the rest of us, shouting slogans. He shot the ambassador at least once more at close range and smashed some of the framed photos on the wall. In all there were at least eight shots.

Guests ran for cover, hiding behind columns and under tables. I composed myself enough to shoot pictures.

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EDITOR'S NOTE: Associated Press photographer Burhan Ozbilici was covering a photo exhibition when a gunman opened fire, assassinating Russia's ambassador to Turkey. He recounts the chaos that unfolded as he captured the scene.

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"Don't forget Aleppo. Don't forget Syria!" the gunman shouted in Turkish, referring to the Syrian city where Russian bombardments have helped drive rebels from areas they had occupied for years during the war. He also shouted "Allahu akbar" but I couldn't understand the rest of what he said in Arabic.

Authorities would later confirm that Ambassador Andrei Karlov, 62, was dead. The gunman, identified as police officer Mevlut Mert Altintas, was killed after a 15-minute shootout.

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