At Least 35 People Killed After Shooters Dressed As Santas Open Fire In Istanbul Nightclub – Live Feed

Live Feed from Istanbul courtesy of RT:

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Turkey greeted the New Year in a tragic fashion with at least 35 people were killed and 40 wounded around 1:15 am local time, after gunmen dressed as Santas opened fire on New Year’s revelers at a nightclub in Istanbul on Sunday morning, Istanbul Governor Vasip Sahin told reporters.

Ambulances line up in front of the Reina nightclub in Istanbul, where a gun
attack took place during a New Year party.

The attacker shot a police officer and a civilian as he entered the popular Reina club in the Ortakoy district of Istanbul before opening fire inside the building, Sahin said, in what he described as a terrorist attack.

Sahin told local media that the assailants first killed the police officer, who was standing at the door of the club, and then went on a rampage inside, killing innocent civilians. A policeman and a civilian are reported to be among the two known casualties at the nightclub. There were two attackers involved, according to NTV, but conflicting reports also described a lone gunman.

The gunmen were dressed in Santa Claus outfits, wielding assault rifles, Turkish media said

The gunmen were dressed in Santa Claus outfits, wielding assault rifles, Turkish media said.

According to RT, one of the gunmen has reportedly hidden inside the club, while the whereabouts of the second one were not immediately clear. The number of casualties may rise, as local press estimates that between 700 and 800 people could have been in the club at the time of the attack, Mynet Haber reports.

Emergency crews have been evacuating injured people from the building as the police search for suspects. After the attackers stormed into the building, some club-goers jumped into the sea in panic, Turkish media cited eyewitnesses as saying.

A search and rescue operation for those who jumped in the water is being carried out by maritime police.

via http://ift.tt/2hFzeig Tyler Durden

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