Dispute over photo ends in tragedy for young florist

A dispute at a flower shop in Antalya has left a young man brain dead after he was attacked by an angry man. The incident occurred due to the posting of a photo on social media involving the attacker's wife, which set off a chain of fatal events.

On October 12, in the Altınova district of Antalya, Turkey, Kıvanç Şensöz, a 31-year-old sports coach and bodyguard, assaulted Eşref Yunus Yıldırıcı, a 29-year-old florist, at his workplace.

The motive was the publication of a photograph of a bouquet of flowers on social media, which also featured Şensöz's wife, who is a foreigner and works selling flowers online. Although her face was not clearly visible in the image, Kıvanç interpreted the incident as a personal affront and decided to take justice into his own hands.

The facts

Firdevs Yıldırıcı, Eşref's sister, had shared the photograph on her business's social media accounts, without foreseeing the consequences. Upon noticing the post, Kıvanç Şensöz felt offended and after confronting Firdevs and receiving an apology, he demanded to meet with Eşref, who took responsibility for the mistake.

What started as a simple apology turned into an assault. During the meeting, Kıvanç suddenly punched Eşref, knocking him unconscious, and continued kicking him as he lay on the ground. The scene was recorded by security cameras and showed how the attacker did not stop until he was stopped by Eşref's uncle, Ali Okur. Medical services arrived at the scene and transferred the victim to Kepez State Hospital, where he was diagnosed with a brain hemorrhage.

Fighting for his life and fatal outcome

For six days, Eşref Yunus Yıldırıcı fought for his life in the intensive care unit. Finally, on October 18, doctors declared him brain dead. His family is considering donating his organs. The attacker, Kıvanç Şensöz, was arrested and faces serious charges.

In his statement to the authorities, Şensöz said he did not intend for the conflict to go this far. “I thought we would fight and then make up,” he said, explaining that he lost control during the argument.

Reactions

Eşref's family is devastated. His sister Firdevs said they had simply shared the photo as part of their job and that they never imagined something like this would happen. “We apologize, but he insisted on continuing,” she said.

The incident has had a strong impact on the local population and on social media, where users have expressed their shock at the tragedy. Doctors warned the family from the beginning that they should be prepared for the worst due to the severity of the injuries. Eşref's family, in addition to grieving their loss, now faces the challenge of obtaining justice.