The Russian Ambassador to Turkey was assassinated inside an art gallery in Ankara, Turkey, on Monday.
Ambassador Andrey Karlov, 62, was shot multiple times in the back by an off-duty policeman, according to the Daily Mail UK.
The gunman (pictured above), later identified as Mevlüt Mert Altintas, 22, shouted “Allahu Akbar (God is Great)” and “We die in Aleppo, you die here!”
Altintas was referring to Russian bombing and air strikes in Aleppo, Syria that killed thousands and displaced thousands more from their homes.
As reporters dived on the floor, Altintas stood over Karlov, shouting in Turkish: “Don’t forget Aleppo! Don’t forget Syria! Stand back! Stand back! Only death will take me out of here. Anyone who has a role in this oppression will die one by one.”
The gunman died in a hail of bullets fired by arriving police officers inside the art gallery.
After the incident, U.S. security officials warned of an “ongoing security incident” outside the U.S. embassy near the art gallery.
Altintas stood behind Karlov and waited patiently while the ambassador spoke to reporters before drawing his weapon and executing the ambassador.
