A gunman who slaughtered 39 people in a New Year’s Eve attack on a nightclub in Isbanbul has been arrested, Turkish officials have confirmed. It is understood that the Uzbek national, named as Abdulkadir Masharipov by the Turkish media, was captured at a friend’s house in the Esenyurt district of Istanbul by security forces late on Monday.
Dozens of people across Turkey have been arrested and questioned in connection with the deadly assault at the Reina nightclub in the last two weeks.
The gunman arrived by taxi at the upmarket club and shot a police officer and a security guard before going inside and spraying partygoers with bullets. He has been on the run since fleeing the massacre on 31 December, and it is believed that he initially hid in a safe house, where he was joined by his wife and children. He than fled with his four-year-old son, who was still with him when he was arrested, according to local reports.
Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack, in which another 70 people were injured, saying it was revenge for Turkish military involvement in Syria.
Esenyurt is a residential suburb of Istanbul on the European side of the Bosphorus about 90 minutes’ drive from the city centre.
