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Turkish authorities made multiple arrests Tuesday as they search for the person who attacked an Istanbul nightclub in the early hours of New Year's Day, killing at least 39 people.

A lone gunman shot his way into the Reina nightclub, which was packed with holiday revelers.


Police arrested two foreign nationals who they described as suspects at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport, according to the state-run 

. They reportedly searched the pair and took them to police headquarters in Istanbul.


"The country remains on high alert, especially at transport hubs and border crossings," NPR's Peter Kenyon in Istanbul reported.

The two arrests follow earlier media reports Tuesday — which were later reversed — that police had identified the suspected gunman at the Reina nightclub.

The state-funded TRT World news network showed images of a passport from Kyrgyzstan belonging to someone it identified as the suspected gunman and named that person, as Peter reports, but the broadcaster stopped showing the passport page shortly after without explanation. (We have since removed that name as well from this post.)

Police later denied that the passport was linked to the shooting, as Peter reported. He added:

Turkish authorities have released a "selfie" video purportedly showing the gunman walking along a city street. Turkish authorities did not say when the video was recorded or how they obtained it.


Police have conducted raids in Istanbul neighborhoods, Peter reported, and 14 people were being held for questioning in connection with the attack, in addition to the pair from the airport.  Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Crime, Law and Justice

Turkish media are reporting that authorities believe the suspected gunman responsible for the New Year's attack at an Istanbul nightclub is from Kyrgyzstan. The shooting killed at least 39 people.

Turkish authorities reportedly ID nightclub shooting suspect

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