Famous Turkish TV host Vatan Şaşmaz shot dead in Istanbul hotel

Vatan Şaşmaz, a renowned TV host and actor, was shot dead in a hotel room in the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul on Aug. 27. The assailant, identified as former model Filiz Aker, reportedly fired four shots at Şaşmaz in his back before committing suicide at the scene. Witnesses said Aker received a phone call while she was having dinner with her friends and later went to her room. Her friends informed hotel officials after they could not manage to open the door. According to initial findings, Aker had been staying at the hotel for a month and she held a Greencard.

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office stated that there were no immediate detentions into the incident.

Born in 1974 in Istanbul, Şaşmaz began his acting career at a modeling agency in 1993. He acted in a number of commercial films and video clips. In 2000, he acted as a morning TV host in private broadcaster ATV for four years and hosted magazine programs for nine years. He also performed on a number of TV series.