Bulgaria: Arson Attack Targets Bistritsa Mayor’s Home and Car

The car and the entrance to the home of Samuil Popov, mayor of the village of Bistritsa, were deliberately set on fire in the early hours of the morning, shortly after 1:30 a.m. Popov said he was awakened by a loud sound similar to an explosion, which initially made him think thunder had struck nearby.

Moments later, he realized that the vehicle parked in the yard of his house was burning. Smoke then began to fill the stairwell, and it became clear that not only the car but also the front door of the house had been set alight. According to Popov, both the vehicle and the entrance had caught fire almost simultaneously.

The mayor told BNT and Nova TV that he noticed a motorcycle leaving the area immediately after the incident. Based on what he observed, he believes that two individuals entered the property, poured a flammable substance over the car and the front door, and then ignited it. An emergency call was placed to 112, and fire crews arrived quickly to extinguish the flames.

At the time of the arson, Popov, his wife, and their four-year-old daughter were asleep on the third floor of the house. On the first floor live his nephew and the nephew’s mother, while several friends of the nephew were also present that night.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs confirmed that the case is under active investigation and that operational measures are already underway. Popov recalled a previous incident from July last year, when masked individuals appeared at the village hall, and said he cannot rule out a connection between the two cases.

He pointed out that on July 11 he publicly questioned the destination of funds collected from municipal rents for sites in the center of the village. According to him, he did not receive a clear explanation and later sent an official inquiry to the Pancharevo district administration and Sofia Municipality. The response indicated that rental revenues did exist but were being managed through an intermediary.

Popov said he has not received new threats since the summer. Asked whether he suspects anyone in particular, he mentioned that recent media coverage had focused on illegal dumping of earth masses in the area, but stressed that he has no concrete information or assumptions about who might be responsible for the arson. Regarding the earlier case involving masked individuals, he added that, to his knowledge, no perpetrators have yet been identified.

Samuil Popov is currently serving his second term as mayor of Bistritsa. He was first elected as an independent candidate and is now in office under the quota of the WCC-DB coalition.