Fri, Feb 10 2012

Shootout leaves policeman critical

Fri, Jul 10 2009 11:57 CET

byNick Iliev

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Shootout leaves policeman critical

Bulgarian police

A shootout in the early hours of July 10 in the central Bulgarian town of Svoge left a 40-year-old police officer Lyubomir Mitov in a critical condition, according to a press statement from the Interior Ministry. Mihail Mihov, Interior Minister, described the crime as an "arrogant and heavy assault against the police force".

After committing an armed robbery at a private house in Svoge, inhabited by two women and a child, the armed pair exerted physical force over the women, then proceeded to steal their AUV and make thier escape. Police received the alarm at 6.04am. Almost immediately a police patrol intercepted the jeep and a high speed chase ensued, with the AUV losing control at a sharp turn. With that, a shootout ensued in which a police officer was shot twice.

Both criminals were subsequently captured by police, disarmed and taken into custody.

"The officer was shot twice, in the abdomen and in the head, and is in a critical condition. This is a very serious crime," said Interior Ministry's general secretary Pavlin Dimitrov, quoted by Focus news.

"The police action was flawless. Immediately after receiving the signal, the perimeter was cut off and surrounded, and then two patrol cars intercepted the vehicle and the chase occurred," Dimitrov said.

According to Mihov, the culprits are facing a minimum sentence of 20 to 30 years, or even life without parole.

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