Bulgaria: Four Men Arrested for Beating and Killing Disabled Man at Karlovo Train Station

A brutal killing took place in Karlovo, where a 50-year-old disabled man was beaten and fatally stabbed near the town’s train station. The Plovdiv District Prosecutor’s Office has pressed charges against four men for their involvement in the attack, which occurred on November 7.

According to investigators, the group of four, aged 36, 38, 43, and 49, encountered the victim near the Karlovo railway station. The man, who was moving on crutches, was attacked by three of them, while the fourth, a 43-year-old identified as I.O., pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the right thigh. The wound struck a major blood vessel, causing heavy bleeding that led to the man’s death.

Authorities said the assault stemmed from a prior conflict between the men and their victim. The Plovdiv District Prosecutor’s Office stated that I.O. is charged with murder committed with hooligan motives, while his accomplices - G.A. (36), Y.S. (49), and Y.O. (38) - face charges of inflicting bodily harm with the same aggravating circumstance. All four have been detained for up to 72 hours, and prosecutors have requested that the main suspect remain in custody.

Details emerging from local media suggest the violence may have been triggered by an earlier altercation. Reports indicate that a young man, Ali Osman, accidentally hit the crutch of an elderly Roma man while boarding a train. The two exchanged blows, and Osman sustained head injuries during the scuffle. After returning home to the nearby village of Rozino, he told his father about the incident. Enraged, the father gathered relatives and went to Karlovo, where they confronted the disabled man. The argument escalated into a fight that ended with the fatal stabbing, allegedly committed by Osman’s father.

The incident sparked tension in both Karlovo and Rozino, raising fears of revenge between the two families. Police were deployed throughout Rozino to prevent a possible clash, successfully averting further violence, according to PB News.

Meanwhile, in a separate case, a 17-year-old youth from Rakitovo stabbed a 16-year-old boy during an argument on a local street. The victim was hospitalized in Velingrad with non-life-threatening injuries. The attacker was detained shortly after the incident, and pre-trial proceedings have been launched under the supervision of the regional prosecutor’s office.