Man Brandishing Gun at Bulgaria's Top Cop Sent to Psychiatry Ward

The Sofia Regional Court ordered a psychiatry check of the man who brandished a gas pistol at Bulgarian Interior Minister. File photo

Mariyan Mirchev, the man who came out waving a handgun in front of the official cortege of Bulgaria's Minister of Interior Tsvetan Tsvetanov, will be sent to a psychiatry clinic for 10 days.

The rule was issued Friday by the Sofia Regional Court.

The 60-year-old, who threatened the Minister, has a previous psychiatric record which was the grounds of the magistrates' decision to check his mental state.

Mirchev says he wanted to probe the quality of Tsvetanov's security. He is charged with breaching public order and faces up to 5 years behind bars if found guilty. The psychiatrist must say first if he is sane and fit to stand trial.

The incident happened Wednesday morning at the Gurko Str. in downtown Sofia, with the man banging at a garbage container, waving a gun and then pointing it at the passing cars.

The man was promptly apprehended by security personnel and hurt no one. The gun he was carrying was a gas pistol and was not loaded.

It turned out that Mirchev further had a previous criminal record as well, with a sentence for breach of public order in 2004 and hospitalization for psychological derangement in 2008.

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