Istanbul: A security officer guarding the Ukrainian consulate in Istanbul on Tuesday shot and injured an armed man who claimed to be carrying a bomb, Istanbul Gov. Muammer Guler said.
Guler said the man, a Turk, tried to enter the building because of a personal grievance concerning his wife in Ukraine and that it was not a terrorist attack.
The man was hospitalized with injuries that were not life-threatening, Guler said.
Istanbul Police Chief Huseyin Capkin said the guard opened fire after the man — identified as 29-year old Volkan Ozbudak — resisted being searched, reached out for his gun and began shooting.
Guler said bomb squads were called to examine a package the man was carrying.
"There is no political motive, it is not a terrorist event," Guler said.
Capkin said the man had served a prison term in Ukraine and had been expelled from the country.
Bureau Report
First Published: Tuesday, March 09, 2010, 18:33