He fired non-stop for 20 minutes at least – Istanbul attack witness

The nightclub on the shores of Istanbul’s Bosphorus waterway in which a gunman opened fire on New Year revellers killing at least 39 people, including many foreigners, remained closed on Monday (January 02) with strong police presence guarding it.

The attack shook NATO member Turkey as it tries to recover from a failed July coup and a series of deadly bombings in cities including Istanbul and the capital Ankara, some blamed on Islamic State and others claimed by Kurdish militants.

Some people jumped into the Bosphorus to save themselves after the attacker began shooting at random in the Reina nightclub just over an hour into the New Year. Witnesses described diving under tables as the assailant walked around spraying bullets from an automatic rifle.

“As soon as he entered the club he started firing and he didn’t stop. He fired non-stop for 20 minutes at least. We thought that there were several of them because it just didn’t stop. And there was some kind of bombing as well, he threw some explosives. We managed to hide ourselves and luckily he didn’t go out on the terrace, he stayed inside, he didn’t go out on the terrace,” said Younis Tuerq, a student in Strasbourg who had travelled to Istanbul to welcome the New Year.

“Suddenly I heard gunshots. It was unabated. Everybody started to run away. Everybody began hiding. I ran with my cousin to find a place to hide. He went somewhere and I went somewhere else. We lost each other. After taking cover, we exchanged messages. Gunfire didn’t stop. Bombs were exploding,” said Yousuf Kodat.

The incident bore echoes of an attack by militant Islamists on Paris’s Bataclan music hall in November 2015 that, along with assaults on bars and restaurants, killed 130 people.

Tuerq said that would not change his plans.

“The same thing happened in Paris, at Bataclan. When they are determined, they are determined and then there is nothing to do. That doesn’t mean that I won’t be coming anymore. For me Turkey, Istanbul, is one of the nicest cities in the world and I will keep on coming again and again.”

Security services had been on alert across Europe for New Year celebrations following an attack on a Christmas market in Berlin that killed 12 people. Only days ago, an online message from a pro-Islamic State group called for attacks by “lone wolves” on “celebrations, gatherings and clubs”.