Turkish Staffer at Swedish Consulate In Izmir Shot, Seriously Injured

Turkish Staffer at Swedish Consulate in Izmir Shot, Seriously Injured

(Photo: GURCAN OZTURK/AFP via Getty Images) A photo taken on November 27, 2013, shows the Gulf of Izmir, formerly known as the Gulf of Smyrna, on the Aegean Sea in the Turkish city of Izmir. A Turkish staff member of the Swedish Consulate in Izmir has been shot and critically wounded Tuesday, August 1, 2023.

A Turkish staff member of Sweden's honorary consulate in Turkey's western city of Izmir has been shot and seriously injured in front of the consulate building Tuesday (August 1).

The staffer was taken to hospital in a critical condition.

According to Turkish state broadcaster TRT, the office of the governor of Izmir said a Turkish person was arrested shortly after the incident and police are investigating the matter. The office added the person who carried out the shooting was "mentally disabled."

Meanwhile, the Swedish foreign ministry said in a statement it does not comment on threats to foreign representatives nor on what security measures are being taken.

While no motivation for the shooting has been speculated by Turkish authorities, it has been reported a few weeks ago that tensions between Sweden and the Arab world have been simmering after an Iraqi self-professed atheist named Salwan Momika burned a copy of the Quran in Stockholm.

Turkey has also promised to allow Sweden into NATO after the latter's joint application with Finland in 2022. The Quran burning incidents in Stockholm only complicated the Nordic nation's bid to join the Atlantic alliance.

This is a developing story. Please follow HNGN for more updates.