A Man Opened Fire and Held Hostages in a Bulgarian Village - Later Surrendered to the Police

Crime | October 4, 2023, Wednesday // 09:26| views

@BGNES

A man who opened fire and held hostages in the village of Valkovo, Sandanski region, was a patient in a psychiatric clinic. He has a criminal record. This was announced by the Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Zhivko Kotsev.

After negotiations with the police and talks with psychologists, the 41-year-old man turned himself in last night. No forceful action was taken by the special forces sent to the scene. The man shot his ex-wife's father and then took her and her mother hostage.

"The incident was reported yesterday around 5:20 p.m. The specific thing is that it was filed by the perpetrator himself. He was found to be from the town of Lom. He is 41 years old, has a criminal record and filed the report himself. The act was committed with two pistols. The perpetrator took hostages - two women, whom he held for 4 hours," explained Daniel Dimitrov - director of the Blagoevgrad regional police department.

According to Nova TV, the man went to his ex-girlfriend's home to clarify their relationship. He later shot her father in the shoulder and took the girl and her mother hostage.

The shot victim is 70 years old and is hospitalized in Pirogov with a life-threatening condition. Throughout the evening, the street where the hostage crisis took place was cordoned off. Everyone living in the area was evacuated from their homes. Over 40 houses were evacuated.

The attacker streamed on Facebook Live what was happening in the house for nearly two hours: