Man Barricades Himself in Bulgarian Village, Shoots at Police

Police have surrounded the house of Vasil Mitkov in Cherniche. Photo by BNGES/Bozhidar Stoilov.

Police have surrounded the area near the house of a 40-year-old man who has barricaded himself in a village near Bulgaria's town of Simitli, Friday.

At 20.30 pm on Friday, Vasil Mitkov fired his legally owned gas gun at the officers surrounding the house in the village of Cherniche. The police have evacuated the family of the shooter, after Vasil has allegedly attacked his father earlier Friday.

The man has not left the house in two years and is mentally unstable, according to the locals. After talks with psychologist, Mitkov has been said to be dangerous and unpredictable in his actions, BGNES reports.

Currently, the area around the incident is cordoned off, and there are three police cars and an ambulance.

Interior Ministry's Chief Secretary Svetlozar Lazarov has rejected comparisons between the incident in Cherniche and the events from March 14, when a shooter in the town of Lyaskovets, who has barricaded himself with a gun in his home, killed a policeman and wounded three other officers.

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