Turkish soldier harasses woman, shoots in the air to intimidate protestors, injures friend

A woman pedestrian was verbally harassed by a Turkish soldier in Turkey's Kurdish-majority city of Dersim (officially Tunceli) on Saturday, and upon reactions by people on the street he fired rounds, injuring one of his friends, Mezopotamya News Agency reported.

The suspect, reportedly an unidentified army sergeant who was in a vehicle with others, was faced with protests when the victim cried for help. He got off the vehicle and shot three rounds in the air. While one of his friends was injured in the process, the suspect and three others were captured and detained after a brief attempt to escape.

Three bullet shells were recovered on the scene.

Both the governor's office in Dersim and the Turkish media reported the incident without mentioning that the suspect is a Turkish soldier.

Dersim Governorship said on Twitter that "a woman citizen and some individuals in a car began to argue," without any implication as to what the cause of the "argument" was.

It added that "four people, among them a public servant, were detained, and investigation has been launched into the incident."