All Suspects in Shooting in Bulgaria’s Sunny Beach Have Been Detained

Crime | June 11, 2016, Saturday // 11:46
Bulgaria: All Suspects in Shooting in Bulgaria’s Sunny Beach Have Been Detained

All suspects in the shooting, which took place in Bulgaria’s largest Black Sea resort of Sunny Beach on Wednesday evening, have been detained. One of them has been charged with intentional murder.

The shooting, which targeted local drug lord Dimitar Zhelyazkov, known by his nickname Ochite (The Eyes), and people from his entourage, left one man dead and several other heavily injured.

The shooting claimed the life of one of Zhelyazkov’s bodyguards, while Zhelyazkov himself was heavily injured and is still in hospital.

Zhelyazkov remains in critical condition having been shot with five bullets in the chest, stomach, bladder and thighs. None of his wounds is fatal, but doctors are struggling to stop the blood loss.

The shooting occurred when Zhelyazkov and his entourage numbering between thirty and forty people arrived at the disco.

A group of around ten people, who were already at the club, opened fire at Zhelyazkov and his men.

Zhelyazkov and his entourage were reportedly armed with knives and axes and were wearing body armour, claims which have been dismissed by the police.

Luckily, none of the ordinary visitors to the club was injured.

Authorities claim that the shooting occurred by accident after the two groups had quarreled over a parking lot.

The unofficial version is that the shooting was the result of a dispute between two rival drug rings.

Throughout the years, Zhelyazkov has been charged with heading organised crime group, distribution of drugs on the Black Sea coast, kidnapping, armed robbery. He spent five years in prison after admitting he headed an organised crime group.

In 2001, a bomb planted in Zhelyazkov’s car, claimed the lives of his wife, brother and bodyguard.

Following the shooting, authorities have heightened security measures at the resort, with Interior Minister Rumyana Bachvarova saying that a series of specialized police operations will be conducted.

Speaking to parliament on Friday, Bachvarova said that ninety people had been detained in a specialized police operation in Burgas on Thursday.

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Tags: Bulgaria, shooting, Sunny Beach, Dimitar Zhelyazkov, drug lord, Rumyana Bachvarova, police, Burgas

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