ISTANBUL — A man suspected of killing more than 30 people during a New Year’s Eve attack on an Istanbul nightclub has been captured by police.
Hurriyet Daily News reports that Uzbek national Abdulkadir Masharipov was nabbed in Istanbul’s Esenyurt district during a massive police operation on Monday.
He was found with his 4-year-old son in an apartment being rented out by a Kyrgyz friend. Police detained the friend and three other women. The son is currently under protection.
In the early hours of Jan. 1, Masharipov stormed the popular Reina nightclub and opened fire on the new year’s revelers.
As many as 700 people were at the waterfront club during the attack. Witnesses say the gunman was in a Santa costume and repeatedly reloaded his weapon to shoot at the wounded on the ground.
Some 39 people were killed, and at least 69 others injured. Some clubgoers reportedly jumped into the Bosphorus to escape.
The Islamic State later claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was done in retaliation for Turkish military involvement in Syria.