site.btaRomanian Inadvertently Shot and Wounded by Bulgarian Law Enforcers, Another One Arrested in Apparent Illegal Lumbering Case

A Romanian man was shot and wounded inadvertently after assaulting police and forestry officers in Nikopol, just across the Danube River in Bulgaria, and another one was taken into 72-hour custody, the Interior Ministry in Sofia said on Friday following Romanian media reports about an incident by the Danube. The two Romanians had entered Bulgaria illegally, apparently to fell trees without permission, the Interior Ministry said.

Around 6 p.m. on October 3, the sound of a chainsaw alerted the authorities in Nikopol to the possibility of illegal lumbering, the ministry said. Officers of the local police department and the Regional Directorate of Forestry conducted a check. After establishing eye contact with the suspected trespassers, the officers, who were wearing all due insignia, issued clear and understandable instructions. Not only did the suspects fail to fulfill the law enforcers' instructions, but they also behaved aggressively, brandishing the chainsaw and a pitchfork.

The enforcers used service guns to fire more than 15 warning shots. According to the Bulgarian Interior Ministry, this did not stop the suspects from behaving aggressively. One of the police officers was hit with the chainsaw, which left injuries on his body. Amid the aggression, which endangered the life and the health of the enforcers, the man with the chainsaw was shot and wounded inadvertently. The man wielding the pitchfork was arrested.

The Interior Ministry went on to report that steps were taken immediately to provide adequate medical care to the wounded man. With the assistance of the Bulgarian and Romanian authorities, he was taken to the nearest medical treatment establishment in Romania. His companion, who was remanded for 72 hours, faces charges under the Bulgarian Penal Code. Pretrial proceedings were instituted. The case was referred to a prosecutor at the Pleven Regional Prosecution Office.

A search started at the scene immediately after the incident. The Romanian authorities were notified and were asked for assistance, the police said.

Bulgarian Interior Minister Atanas Ilkov discussed the case with his Romanian counterpart Catalin Predoiu by telephone. They briefed each other on the circumstances of the incident and sorted out the facts and the actions of the two countries' authorities.