Bulgarian Bank Robber Faces Permanent Detention

A young Bulgarian man held hostages at gunpoint for long hours inside the Investbank branch in the city of Sliven. Photo by BGNES

The prosecutor is asking Monday permanent detention for Stefan Petrov Stefanov, the man, who attempted to rob a bank in the Bulgarian city of Sliven.

Om March 23, Stefanov, 27, busted in the local branch of Investbank in Sliven, and shot and seriously wounded one of the security guards, who is still in critical condition. The assailant took the six bank employees hostages and gradually released them with the last one being held for over 18 hours.

He surrendered to the police 39 hours after the beginning of the ordeal. The Prosecutor's Office charged him Saturday with 3 counts – large-scale attempted robbery and attempted homicide, taking hostages, and illegal possession of ammunitions. Stefanov is facing 15 years to life behind bars.

Meanwhile, people from his native village of Korten, near the town of Nova Zagora, have started collecting signatures in protection of the failed bank robber. They are considering establishing an initiative committee for his defense.

Psychologists say Stefanov's sixth consecutive failure at the driver's license exam has triggered the aggression. Darki radio reported Monday the man has slept all the time in jail since his surrender over the exhausting ordeal.

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