A Month After the Tyulkubas Shooting, Residents Still Have No Answers

In early November, a deadly shooting shocked the Turkistan region. Unknown assailants opened fire on a group of young people in the Tyulkubas district. Seventeen-year-old Torehan Toreali died from his injuries. Since then, residents have been left anxious and confused, while police have yet to disclose who fired the shots or why.

An Orda.kz correspondent visited the district, speaking with locals and Torehan’s brother.

Dinara Beisembayeva, a pharmacist on night shift, witnessed the attack. She had stepped outside to dump a bucket of water when she heard a series of pops.

At that moment, there was a sound like fireworks. I saw they were holding guns. At first, no one was shouting anything. So I thought it was some kind of prank. Then one of them shouted, 'Leg!' Another said, 'Dead, dead. Shot in the heart.' Then I said, 'What have you done?' Later, the wounded came asking for bandages. And the shooters immediately got into a car and drove away,
 Dinara recalls.

For 20-year-old Timur Toreali, November 2 is a date he will never forget.

It was the night he lost his younger brother. Torehan, who had recently finished school and worked as a welder, had gone out to buy eye drops. After picking up the medicine, he joined his older brother and friends for a moment, seconds before the attack began.

I was sitting in the car. My younger brother was standing outside. Suddenly, a shot rang out. Then we all hid. A man ran out of the darkness. He was holding something like a Kalashnikov assault rifle. I served in the army, I know. I saw one man. Two more came up from behind. They opened fire. We all hid inside the car. They shot mercilessly for about three minutes. When I ran out to check, my friend was lying on the ground, screaming, ‘My leg!’ I looked at my leg — there was blood. I looked at my brother — he was down. I ran to him, and a bullet had hit him in the chest. His ribcage was dented. It hit him right in the heart,
 Timur told us.

The brothers came from a family of six children.

Timur says Torehan had not managed to enroll in university this year and had been working; his eye problems were the reason he went to the pharmacy that night.

On the way to the hospital, my brother died in my arms. I couldn't believe it. I hoped he'd survive. But we were told my brother had passed away. I still can't believe I'll never see him again. We're still waiting, as if he's about to walk in. It wasn't his fault, nor ours. My brother had simply gone to the pharmacy to buy some eye drops,
Timur says bitterly.

Around ten young people were present during the shooting — mostly Timur’s classmates. Some managed to flee; others hid inside the car. Timur says he had no conflict with anyone and still cannot understand what provoked the attack.

Police previously announced that one suspect had been detained and that they were searching for the others. A month has passed, and the search continues — even though all the attackers were recorded on CCTV.

This crime should be causing no less public outcry than the murder of Sherzat Polat. Yet key questions remain unanswered: What did the detained suspect say during interrogation? Why were unarmed young men targeted? And how is it that none of the other attackers have been caught after an entire month?

Local residents say they continue to live in fear.

Original Author: Nazerke Yerkinbekkyzy