Shooting Reported Near U.S. Embassy In Turkey Following Russian Ambassador Assassination

The U.S. State Department is urging American citizens to avoid Turkey amid reports of a shooting in the area according to a post on the TravelGov’s twitter account.

Reports of shooting near US Embassy Ankara, #Turkey– US citizens advised to avoid Embassy area until further notice.

— Travel – State Dept (@TravelGov) December 19, 2016

The “ongoing security incident” comes after the Russian ambassador to Turkey was assassinated in the Anakara.

The embassy is just 2.5 miles away from the art gallery where Russian Ambassador Andrey Karlov a 40 year long diplomat was shot and killed,

The Area has been placed on lockdown, until further notice. It is unknown at this time if this was the earlier assassination of the ambassador or if this is another shooting situation.

Americans “should avoid travel to southeast Turkey and carefully consider the risks of travel to and throughout the country,” the State Department said.

A travel warning for Turkey has been in place for Americans since October 29, alerting US citizens of “increased threats from terrorist groups throughout Turkey.”

(THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY AND FURTHER DETAILS WILL BE ADDED AS MORE INFORMATION COMES AVAILABLE.)