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7 Shot Dead in Turkey After Fired Worker Takes Hostages

The shooter was reportedly an employee who was laid off and returned to his office to take hostages.

Seven people were shot dead in Turkey on Wednesday after a man returned to his office after being fired and took his colleagues hostage, local news agencies reported.

The man turned the gun on himself during the incident at the Turkish Statistical Institute in the eastern province of Kars, officials told Turkey’s Anadolu Agency and others.

"Someone who was dismissed from his job ran amok and killed six people, before committing suicide," Kars Governor Eyup Tepe said in a statement reported by the Dogan News Agency.

Video from the scene showed armed tactical units taking cover behind parked cars, before advancing in the streets near the office.

These units were dispatched to the scene after police received reports of a hostage situation. But the hostages were killed before the units arrived at the scene, the Dogan News Agency reported

The man was reportedly fired following an internal investigation at the institute.

- Alexander Smith