Teen Turkish wrestler stabbed to death trying to protect firefighters

ISTANBUL

Cem Yılmaz, a 16-year-old member of Beşiktaş’s wrestling team, succumbed to his wounds Jan. 6 after being stabbed a day earlier while intervening in a fight between firefighters and locals at an Istanbul shanty town.

On the evening of Jan. 5, a group began throwing stones at firefighters who were trying to extinguish a fire at the Feriköy neighborhood in central Istanbul. The young athlete, an Istanbul champion in 2013, tried to stop the locals before he was attacked.

“We have lost Cem Yılmaz, a registered member of our wrestling team, due to a deplorable incident,” the Beşiktaş club confirmed in a written statement.

Police have been investigating the murder, as the reason for the fight remains unclear.