Five people, including four minors, have been arrested in connection with an armed attack on the İstanbul headquarters of Otokoç, Koç Holding’s automotive retail and car rental company, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
The suspects were detained as part of an investigation into the June 7 shooting at the Otokoç headquarters in İstanbul’s Maltepe district, where two bullets struck the building.
After giving statements to prosecutors, the five suspects, four of whom are under the age of 18, were referred to a criminal court of peace with a request for their arrest. The court ordered all five jailed pending trial.
Authorities are still seeking three other suspects in connection with the attack.
The shooting took place at the Otokoç headquarters in the Aydınevler neighborhood of Maltepe. Two masked people opened fire on the building before fleeing. No casualties were reported.
Police later determined that the suspects had discarded their weapons and clothing in the garden of a nearby shopping mall before escaping by taxi. Two suspects were initially detained after police traced the escape route, and three others were later taken into custody.
The İstanbul Anadolu Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said shortly after the attack that an investigation had been launched immediately and was continuing “meticulously.”
The Maltepe attack was one of several incidents targeting businesses linked to Koç Holding after public outrage over remarks by prominent businessman Rahmi Koç that were widely condemned as racist and sexist.
A video from the June 5 opening of İzmir American Hospital showed Koç, the 95-year-old honorary chairman of Koç Holding, telling a joke about a Kurdish woman during a tour of the facility. In the video Koç is heard recounting a joke in which a doctor listens to a Kurdish woman’s complaint and instructs her to go behind a curtain and undress. According to the joke, the woman responds, “Doctor, you undress first.”
The video showed former prime minister Binali Yıldırım and other guests laughing as Koç completed the joke. Critics said the joke portrayed a Kurdish woman as unable to understand a doctor’s instructions and used her ethnicity, body and lack of familiarity with a medical setting as the basis for humor.
The İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office later launched an investigation into Koç over the remarks.
Turkish media reports linked the attacks on Koç-linked businesses to public anger over Koç’s remarks, although police have not publicly confirmed a motive.
In addition to the Maltepe shooting, an Otokoç dealership in Antalya and a Diyarbakır branch of Yapı Kredi, one of Turkey’s largest private banks and part of Koç Holding, were also targeted in armed attacks.
In Antalya 13 people were detained in connection with the attack on an Otokoç dealership. Ten were released, while two were arrested and one was released under judicial supervision.
In Diyarbakır, a Yapı Kredi branch in the predominantly Kurdish province’s Sur district was targeted in an armed attack. A second attack was reported the following morning in the city’s Yenişehir district, where two ATMs belonging to the bank were shot at by unidentified people.
Koç later apologized in a written statement shared by Koç Holding.
“I sincerely apologize for my words, which were not intended to target any identity,” Koç said. “I would like to sincerely share my sadness.”
Justice Minister Akın Gürlek also criticized Koç’s remarks, saying the judiciary would protect human dignity and the law regardless of wealth, title or status.
The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party’s (DEM Party) Women’s Assembly said the remarks targeted Kurdish women’s language, identity and bodies under the guise of humor, while Pervin Buldan, one of the party’s most senior figures, called the incident a “disgrace.”
The DEM Party also filed a criminal complaint against Koç with the İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Koç, honorary chairman and board member of Koç Holding, chaired the conglomerate from 1984 until his retirement in 2003.
Koç Holding is Turkey’s largest corporate group by combined revenue, exports, employment and market share on Borsa İstanbul, according to the company.