A man was detained on Monday evening after a shootout in a boulevard not far from the center of Bulgaria's capital Sofia left two people injured.

The wounded men, 21 and 30, have a criminal record, police said. They were taken to hospital after being shot in the legs.

Officials did not immediately comment on the identity of the man who reportedly fired at them. He was detained for 24 hours, with pre-trial proceedings launched into the development.

There were conflicting reports as to what caused the incident, with public broadcasters BNT and BNR arguing the guards of Alexei Petrov, a former anti-terrorism and security agent, had been involved.

Petrov, however, later told private bTV station that neither he nor his guards had been part of the incident.

At the end of October, officials confirmed that an attack with grenade launchers in an adjacent neighborhood had targeted the car of Petrov, who lives in the area.

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