Man shoots into air in front of US embassy in Ankara

A man fired a few rounds of a rifle into the air in front of the American embassy early Tuesday, hours after the Russian ambassador to Turkey was assassinated here, police said.

Authorities said Sahin S. approached embassy in Ankara's Cankaya district with and fired eight to nine times with the rifle he had concealed in his coat.

He was taken into custody and an investigation is underway, according to police who said extraordinary security measures have been taken around the area.

Russian envoy Andrey Karlov was killed at an art exhibition in the Cankaya district earlier Monday when a gunman opened fire that targeted the diplomat before shooting into the air, according to an Anadolu Agency correspondent who witnessed the shooting.

The envoy, who was delivering a speech at an opening ceremony, was taken to a hospital but was later pronounced dead.

Police special forces neutralized the assailant in an operation that lasted approximately 15 minutes.