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Turkish families gather to remember children killed by gun violence

Activists say rising gun ownership and poor regulation are posing a growing risk to innocents.

ILYAS AKENGIN/AFP via Getty Images
A boy looks on next to a police officer holding a Kalashnikov assault rifle during a demonstration in solidarity with Kurdish hunger-striking prisoners in Diyarbakir on May 24, 2019. — ILYAS AKENGIN/AFP via Getty Images

ISTANBUL — Thirteen-month-old Kaan Tas was being pushed around a garden by his sister when she noticed blood coming from his head. He died a short while later, the latest young life lost to gun crime in Turkey. 

The Tas family was visiting the southern city of Gaziantep when Kaan was hit in the head on Tuesday evening by a “tired bullet” — a round fired into the air, usually at celebrations such as weddings or send-offs for men starting their military service. The phenomenon is widespread in Turkey and is one of the problems of growing gun ownership, according to campaigners calling for tougher restrictions and penalties on weapons. 

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