Leon
09-07-2003, 12:34
A man hunt is on in Turkey after a two-year-old British boy was shot and killed while sleeping in his pram, leaving his mother "almost hysterical" with grief.Alistair Grimason was found dead by his mother Ozlem after the gunman opened fire on three other men.It happened as she and her family were eating at a restaurant in the village of Foca, near Izmir.
Tragically, Ozlem had no idea her son had been hit with a bullet until the family had left the restaurant as part of an evacuation. It was only then she saw spots of blood on the pram.
Alistair's uncle Mark Grimason said: "We are all heartbroken. We just can't believe it has happened."
The little boy's father David has flown to Turkey from the family home in East Kilbride, Lanarkshire.
The 31-year-old printer had only returned to Scotland on Friday after spending two weeks with his wife and son on the Turkish west coast.
Ozlem, 27, was planning to spend a further four weeks in Turkey before returning home to her computing job at Glasgow University.
She and her husband married four years ago in Turkey and then set up home in Scotland.
Just days before Ozlem made the trip back to Turkey, she told family members that she thought Scotland was too dangerous and Turkey was a safer place for children.
"She said children in Scotland lacked discipline and that in Turkey you can walk the streets at night and be totally safe," the boy's grandfather, David, said.
The grandad, 58, described Alistair as the apple of his eye.
He said: "He was my best pal. I can't take it in, I just want it to all go away and for it not to be true."
The three men injured in the shooting are believed to be in a critical condition in hospital.
Tragically, Ozlem had no idea her son had been hit with a bullet until the family had left the restaurant as part of an evacuation. It was only then she saw spots of blood on the pram.
Alistair's uncle Mark Grimason said: "We are all heartbroken. We just can't believe it has happened."
The little boy's father David has flown to Turkey from the family home in East Kilbride, Lanarkshire.
The 31-year-old printer had only returned to Scotland on Friday after spending two weeks with his wife and son on the Turkish west coast.
Ozlem, 27, was planning to spend a further four weeks in Turkey before returning home to her computing job at Glasgow University.
She and her husband married four years ago in Turkey and then set up home in Scotland.
Just days before Ozlem made the trip back to Turkey, she told family members that she thought Scotland was too dangerous and Turkey was a safer place for children.
"She said children in Scotland lacked discipline and that in Turkey you can walk the streets at night and be totally safe," the boy's grandfather, David, said.
The grandad, 58, described Alistair as the apple of his eye.
He said: "He was my best pal. I can't take it in, I just want it to all go away and for it not to be true."
The three men injured in the shooting are believed to be in a critical condition in hospital.