An official from the Belarusian embassy in Turkey has been shot twice by a Turkish citizen, reportedly a neighbor of the diplomat. The official was rushed to hospital and remains in a critical condition

Aleksandr Poganshev, who serves as Undersecretary of Administrative Affairs of the Embassy of Belarus, was shot in Ankara on Wednesday afternoon by an assailant who has yet to be named. The shooter reportedly took his own life after the incident

The Belarusian foreign ministry’s press service told Sputnik that the attacker was mentally unstable.

“An employee of the Belarusian embassy was returning home with his child when he was shot by a mentally unbalanced Turkish citizen​​​. He is now in a serious condition and is receiving medical assistance,” the ministry's spokesperson, Anatoly Glaz, told the agency.