Thousands of miles away from his native country, Bugra Toplusoy watched the chaos at Reina nightclub in Istanbul unfold on his TV.
“We were going to celebrate New Year’s,” he says. “We couldn't eat, we couldn't drink, we couldn't anything.”
The pictures made him sick to his stomach.
“Terrible, disturbing images,” he says. “I couldn't even look.”
A gunman ambushed party-goers at the popular club over the weekend, killing 39.
Bugra tells us it's a club he's been to before, one he likely would've been in if he was in turkey to celebrate the new year.
“A lot of famous DJ's go there, it's a really nice, fun place.”
With another act of violence devastating his country, Burgra tells NewsChannel 5 it's taking away that innocence, and causing fear to spread.
He's now telling his own family there to be careful.
“People are more cautious now going into the malls, going into clubs and busy streets,” he says. “And this is exactly what ISIS wants anyway. They want to change the way people are living in turkey.”
Bugra says it will take a united front to overcome the fear.
“Some people blame other countries, some people blame our government. Instead of blaming each other, I think all strong nations should unite and put an end to this. It could happen anywhere.”
