The terrorist attack claimed the lives of police officer Cem Kerman and his wife, Dilay Kerman, who was a teacher. The woman was killed as she watched her husband and the other policemen play football. The attack also left eight more policemen wounded, three of which are in critical condition.
Turkey was already seeing intense violence from the PKK, which has killed dozens of soldiers in various attacks in the Southeast; however, the terrorist organization’s attack on a football pitch and its killing a civilian woman drew strong criticism from all segments of society.
Speaking to journalists at his house, Cem Kerman’s father, Ercan Kerman, said: “The first anniversary of their marriage was going to be on Sept. 19. We were planning to send them presents for the occasion. We were already preparing the gifts. I talked with my son over the phone every night. When we first heard the news of the attack, we called them frantically. When neither answered the phone, we got more and more unnerved. It was shortly afterwards that we got the horrible news.”
Dilay and Cem were bid farewell on Tuesday in separate funeral ceremonies, which were attended by thousands of people. Cem was buried in his hometown of Edirne, while Dilay was buried in her hometown of Ankara.
