Acting Minister of Internal Affairs Ivan Demerdzhiev arrived at the scene of the shooting on our border with Turkey near Elhovo. In front of journalists, he revealed details about the tragic incident in which a Bulgarian border policeman lost his life. According to the minister, he was in the system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for more than 8 years and had sufficient experience and training. Demerdzhiev categorically announced:
„There is no reason for personnel changes. Just because some freak decided to shoot across the border, we can’t make personnel changes every day. We are talking about a disgusting manifestation of a person who decided to shoot across the border.“
The minister explained that if the shooter is caught, he will be brought before a Turkish court because there is no way he will be tried in Bulgaria. And he explained that this was the first armed attack by migrants.
„In this case we are talking about a firearm used in an ambush. These people patrol there all day and with a heavy bulletproof vest that can hardly happen. Therefore, I very much ask the experts to be objective when commenting“, Demerdzhiev also pointed out. And added:
„A large number of our colleagues are extremely well prepared and I will take responsibility and they will dare to shoot, I assure you. They can still shoot. The military has long been out of combat. They are security oriented.“
The interior minister also explained that our border police were not being followed by the traffickers. They were the breach in the fence and immediately stopped to take measures. And emphasized:
„This will not happen again!“
According to Demerdzhiev, the very first shot was fatal. But they knew where the perpetrators had gone, and active efforts were being made to catch them. The Turkish side had also taken the necessary actions.
„This situation is unprecedented. They don’t have the training. For years there was no shooting along the border. You understand that however theoretically they are prepared, they have not acted in such a situation for many years. We are all broken. But on the other hand, it mobilizes us and we are ambitious to make things improve“, the interior minister also pointed out.
