People take pictures of a makeshift memorial set in front of the Reina nightclub on January 5, 2017 inIstanbul, four days after a gunman killed 39 people on New Year's night. (AFP/Xinhua)
ISTANBUL, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Istanbul police on Monday night captured the gunman who launched a shooting spree at a nightclub in the city on New Year's Day, killing 39 people, local media reported.
The gunman, who has been on the run for 17 days, was caught unharmed at the apartment of a friend in the district of Esenyurt in a police operation, the Hurriyet daily said.
NTV said the friend is a Kyrgyz citizen.
Police have identified the gunman as Abdulgadir Masharipov, a Uzbek national, who resisted during the police operation and was found with his 4-year-old son, NTV said.
Masharipov will undergo a medical examination before being handed over to the counter-terrorism unit for investigation, the reports said.
The militant stormed into Reina nightclub in central Istanbul soon after the New Year was in, shot dead 39 and injured 69 others in a 7-minute fire and managed to escape to his apartment and run away with his son.
A total of 35 people have been detained over their suspected links to the attack, press reports said.
