Kemal Ekşi, who was shot by FETÖ members during the coup attempt, had finished his military service one month before he was martyred.
Ekşi was one of the first people who ran out onto the streets as soon as he found about the July 15th coup attempt. His mother, with whom he spoke to twice, wanted him to come back home, but Ekşi said, “It’s not like what you think, I will go.”
The 24-year-old went to the Bosporus Bridge, which was blocked by FETÖ members, with his cousin and friend around 11:00 PM. FETÖ members fired a warning shot at first to the people who were resisting them on the bridge. Some of the people retreated after the warning shot. The traitorous soldiers who took cover continued to kill. Ekşi, who was shot in several parts of his body, was martyred on the scene when a bullet hit him underneath his heart.
Kemal Ekşi was the oldest of four brothers. Ekşi, who was originally from Rize, graduated from the Machine Technician Department of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University. Ekşi, who died as a martyr on the Bosphorus Bridge on the night of July 15, was buried in the Karacaahmet Graveyard.
The name of Martyr Kemal Ekşi was given to an Anatolian Imam Hatip high school in Büyükçekmece.