In Istanbul's Fatih district, a mentally disabled man who was attacked by stray dogs has died from his injuries. The incident occurred early in the morning on Aug. 19 in the Sümbül Efendi neighborhood.
Ayhan Özçelik, 40, who lived in Esenler, was visiting relatives in Silivrikapı Mahallesi when he was attacked by a pack of stray dogs while walking through an empty lot. The attack left Özçelik severely injured, with wounds to his neck and face, and he was found without any clothing left on his body.
Municipal workers, who were in the area to collect trash, discovered the scene and reported it to the police and medical teams. Despite immediate medical intervention at Istanbul Training and Research Hospital, Özçelik could not be saved and died from blood loss.
His body was later transferred to the Forensic Medicine Institute in Bahçelievler for further examination and was subsequently returned to his family.
Burhan Özçelik, Ayhan's brother, reported to the police that his brother had a mental disability and would occasionally visit his sister in Silivrikapı. He said: “My brother was attacked by five-six stray dogs, which severely injured his throat and head. He had no clothes left. The same dogs had previously attacked other relatives about a month ago and attacked another girl two weeks after that. This is not the first time these dogs have caused harm.”
He further explained: “Around 5 a.m., the trash collectors heard noises and were also attacked by the dogs, they chased the dogs away with construction sticks and called an ambulance, the trash collectors took a photo of my brother and sent it to our cousins. After seeing the photo, we went to the hospital immediately, but he had already passed away by 2-3 a.m., if the trash collectors hadn’t intervened, the dogs might have continued attacking him until morning.”
The final moments of Ayhan Özçelik were captured on security cameras, which recorded the stray dogs near him before the emergency services arrived.
