Gunman takes seven hostage at Procter & Gamble plant in Turkey

A gunman has taken seven workers hostage at a Procter & Gamble factory in Turkey as a protest over the war in Gaza, police said.

The suspect raided the Gebze plant’s main building on Thursday at around 2:20 p.m. local time, holding seven people at gunpoint while the rest of the employees fled, according to Turkey’s IHA news agency. 

“Earlier today, we evacuated our Gebze facility and are working with local authorities to resolve an urgent security situation,” US-based Procter & Gamble said in a statement. “The safety of P&G people and our partners is our top priority.”

The suspect, who has yet to be identified, allegedly hopped over the fence surrounding the plant and targeted employees in the factory’s field of cleaning and personal care unit.

Unverified videos have been uploaded to social media of the scene, with the alleged gunman hiding his face as he spray painted his support for Palestine on the factory walls.

Local resident Ismet Zihni said his wife, Suheyla, was among the hostages and had called him during the incident to tell him she and the other six workers were okay, Turkey’s Demiroren News Agency reports.

Special forces, police and first responders have been dispatched and are currently at the scene. Seddar Yavuz, the governor of Kocaeli, is in the region and was briefed on the standoff. 

Procter & Gamble, based in Cincinnati, employs about 700 people at three sites in Istanbul and Kocaeli, including the Gebze plant. The factories mainly produce cleaning and hygiene products for brands like Gillette and Oral-B.

The Turkish sites serve as a hub for operations in eight countries, according to the company.

This is a developing story.