Source language: English
The incident, which occurred at 3:15 am was recorded on a security camera installed by the church several months ago, in the wake of the gruesome stabbing deaths of three Protestant Christians in Malatya. Sahin walked up to the door of the church, laid down a box and some other flammable materials, poured liquid over the pile and lit it while smoking a cigarette. He then walked off, returning shortly to find the pile burning brightly on the stone steps. Stepping away down the street, he proceeded to shoot off his pistol loaded with blanks into the air several times. Police arrived within several minutes and were soon joined by 10 people from the neighborhood, but the fire was not put out until the fire department came minutes later.
The suspect was apprehended on a nearby street shortly after the incident still carrying the pistol. The church pastor said that police authorities called him at 8 a.m. to inform him of the incident.
Although the fire blackened the entrance and steps to the church, there was no structural damage to the building.
The pastor has been provided with an armed government security guard since the last week of April, when he returned home with his family after his brother-in-law's funeral. On May 20, the testimony of one of the Malatya murder suspects was leaked to the Turkish press, stating that he had planned to murder the Izmit pastor next. The pastor was again targeted in the Turkish media on July 14, when police authorities in Izmit's Kocaeli province reported the round-up of a mafia-style gang of 23 suspects involved in assassinations of businessmen and a rash of other illegal activities in the region. After his capture, gang leader Ismail Halil was interrogated about the group's alleged plans to murder the Izmit pastor in the near future, for which they were to receive $1 million, according to Sabah newspaper. Halil reportedly claimed his legal right to remain silent on this question.
In a previous incident this summer, a group of neighborhood boys plastered the front of the church building with raw eggs on the morning of July 30, just as the church began a week-long English club for its young people.
Police identified the culprits after viewing the security camera footage, bringing them from their homes to clean up the mess.
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