28 March 2004

:: NEWS ::

Man shot in the head during police raid in Plovdiv

Is it people they are shooting at or dogs, ask his relatives

2003 news

2002 news

A 25-year-old man of Romani origin was shot dead by police officers from the Sixth District Police Station in Plovdiv early in the morning on 27 March 2004. Kircho Stoyanov was shot in the eye at 3 A.M. near the city cemetery.

The fatal incident happened during a police raid launched several hours earlier against drug dealers. At about 3 A.M. a police patrol car from the Sixth District Police Station spotted a suspicious man on the street. He tried to flee when he saw them. One of the police officers ran after him, while the other remained in the car. According to police reports, the first police officer fired a warning shot in the air, but Kircho Stoyanov did not stop. When the police officer caught up with him, the young man reportedly took out a kitchen knife and a fight between the two ensued. In an attempt to prevent an attack and take the knife from the man's hand, the police officer fired the fatal shot, reports the Plovdiv District Police Directorate. Kircho Stoyanov died instantly from the bullet that hit him a in the region of the eye. According to another version, reported by the Trud daily, the second police officer also took part in the fight.

Secretary General of the Ministry of Interior stated that an inspection is underway in Plovdiv, which will investigate how the two officers acted. They have been temporarily suspended from work because of the "initial psychological shock," he said.

The police report that Kircho Stoyanov had a criminal record, had been a drug dealer and drug addict; he had been arrested 4 years ago for possession of 11 joints with marijuana.

The man's family admit he had been addicted to heroin for the last three years, but were unaware he was a drug dealer. They deny he ever owned a knife or firearms, and was fearful like most drug addicts.

"How can the police shoot a man like that. Is it people they are shooting at, or dogs? He attacked them, they say. Why did they shoot him in the head then, and not in the leg? Why couldn't they take him to the station and then prove he was involved in a crime," said Kircho's step father, Dimitar Djambazov. "It doesn't matter what he did, nobody deserves to die that way," Kircho's neighbours from the Stolipinovo neighbouhood in Plovdiv were saying yesterday.

top