A 17-year-old girl was killed by a single shot to her chest when a friend shot her with a rifle as they hung out in a derelict lot.

Victim Kader Yigit had been with a group of pals in Ovacik Neighbourhood, Kecioren District, Ankara Province, Turkey on 20th November when one of them began playing around with a rifle.

But as he showed off the gun, 18-year-old Yusuf Can Bilen fired off a single shot, which hit Kader at point-blank range.

She was taken to hospital but declared dead from a gunshot wound.

When Bilen was arrested, he reportedly told police: “It happened by accident, while we were joking around.”

But Kader’s brother Gokhan Yigit told local media: “My sister was a fun person. She was both studying and working. She was contributing income to the house.

“She was afraid of guns. Two girls and four boys went to an empty lot. In the statement given at the police station, five people said the same thing.

“In their statements, they stated that the rifle suddenly fired while they were joking around.

“The person who shot her is currently in Sincan Prison. Of course he will be punished. They stole my sister’s work, dreams and future.”

And an anonymous family member told local media: “It’s nothing accidental, it’s a femicide. They killed Kader. They want to make it look like an accident.”

Kader leaves behind two older siblings and a mother. The siblings’ father is estranged.

The investigation is ongoing.

Femicide is a growing problem in Turkey, particularly after the country officially quit the Istanbul Convention in July last year.

According to the 2021 Annual Data Report announced by the ‘We Will Stop Femicide Platform’, 280 women were killed by men in 2021, while 217 women were found suspiciously dead.

According to data from the ‘Monument Counter’, which is “a digital memorial for women killed by violence” and is updated daily, 345 femicides have taken place in Turkey so far this year.