Northern Bulgaria Shootout Sends 9 to Hospital

About 50 people took part in a fistfight and shootout in the northern Bulgarian village of Bukovlak. Photo by BGNES

A bloody action has taken place Thursday evening in the village of Bukovlak, near the northern Bulgarian city of Pleven injuring nine people, including one nine-year old child.

According to a report of the Bulgarian National television, BNT, there has been a mass fight and a shootout between two Roma families and it is a miracle that there have not been any fatalities.

The entire Pleven police force was on alert and remained in the village all night long. The Chief Secretary of the Interior, Kalin Georgiev, also took an emergency trip to the incident's location.

The scandal flared up around 5:30 pm Thursday after an argument between two children from the two different Roma families, turning the dispute into a fistfight. Witnesses say at least 50 people took part in the melee.

The injured are listed in the University Hospital in Pleven. The most severely hurt patient is a 45-year-old man with shotgun wounds in the chest. He is in critical condition and on life-support after surgery.

The 9-year-old girl had a shotgun wound in the stomach and also underwent surgery. Her life is out of danger, so are the lives of the other seven.

The police seized bullet shells and different ammunition. The raids of six houses in the village found an illegally owned hunting rifle. The authorities have started pre-trail procedures. Three men, 17, 33, and 39, have been arrested.

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