Last Hostage Released by Sliven Bank Assailant
Crime | March 24, 2011, Thursday // 10:57| views
Sliven police have besieged a local bank branch where an unknown assailant held hostages for over 18 hours. Photo by BGNES
The last hostage has been released from the Investbank branch in the city of Sliven, Bulgarian Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, announced in the Parliament Thursday morning.
According to the Bulgarian National Television, BNT, the woman has left the bank around 10:30 am. Svetla Atanasova-Dineva was the last person to be held by the assailant.
The yet unidentified man is still inside the bank. Borisov told the Members of the Parliament the failed robber was afraid to leave his hiding place and appealed to him to come out with the promise "no one was even going to slap him."
Meanwhile, Interior Minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, told the TV channel bTV, the man has asked to talk to his close-ones, who cooperated immediately with the authorities.
According to unconfirmed reports the assailant had worked a security guard at a different bank, has been raised in an orphanage and has no known history of drug abuse.
The hostage drama began around 4 pm Wednesday.
Ivelina Teneva (Chief Accountant) and Mimi Velichkova (cashier) were released at 4 am Thursday morning while around 7:30 am, footage showed police escorting a man outside the bank. It is believed he is Dimitar Mitkov – the second security guard. The other one Stancho Stoev, was shot by the assailant, upon him bursting in the bank and underwent emergency surgery. It is reported his life is out of danger, but his condition remains very serious.
Chief Secretary of the Interior Ministry, Kalin Georgiev, is personally leading the special task force team at the location. Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, was also in Sliven overnight, but has returned to Sofia and will fly to Brussels later Thursday to attend the European Council meeting.
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