Famous Bulgarian Actor Arrested for Assaulting a Woman Who is a Foreigner (UPDATED)

Bulgarian actor Hristo Shopov was arrested last night for attacking a young woman with a gun, threatening to kill her and beating her, according to the victim who first wrote to Novinite early in the morning. There is video evidence on which his gun is visible and it can be heard how he says clearly "I will kill you". In addition, on the recording, his wife Mariane is beating the woman. Both are expected to face criminal charges.

 

Shopov is currently in a cell in the police department in the "Mladost" district of Sofia.

 

The Ministry of the Interior confirmed for Nova TV that Shopov has been arrested. The reason - he threatened a woman with a weapon after a dispute between neighbors in Sofia. The man is in the custody of 7th Police Precinct in Mladost.

 

 

 

BNT interviewed the victim:

The threats came after a dispute between neighbors. The victim can be seen asking the actor "Come on, what are you going to do now? Are you going to attack me?", followed by a scuffle.

The woman has been living next door to Hristo and Mariane Shopovi in the capital's "Malinova Dolina" district for several years. She claims that her relationship with them has long been strained over a dog dispute.

According to victim, yesterday she parked her car in front of the garage, and Mariane - Shopov's wife, parked behind her so that Patricia's car could not get out.

Patricia went to dinner by taxi and picked up Mariana's car wiper (in Bulgaria this is usually done to signal that something wrong has been done by the driver). After returning home later in the evening, the woman found her wiper broken and a scandal ensued.

"Her husband, who I haven't spoken to before, came with a gun and pointed it 5cm from my face and told me he was going to shoot me. I was recording this and they got angry and wanted to take my phone. They came outside and they attacked, trying to take my phone. He pushed me against the wall and punched me, as you can see," said the victim.

Shopov gained recognition for his role as Pontius Pilate in Mel Gibson's critically acclaimed film "The Passion of the Christ," which received three Academy Award nominations. He has also starred in several notable Bulgarian films, including "Yesterday," "The Summer of Love of a Lochman," "Indian Games," "Margarit and Margarita," "Traffic," and "The Glory of Bulgaria," among others.

He is married to actress Mariane Stanisheva and has a daughter named Nevena from his first marriage and a son named Naum from his second marriage.