A Romanian citizen was injured on Thursday during a conflict with the Bulgarian authorities, BNT reported.
The man and his son illegally reached a Bulgarian island in the Danube River. A Bulgarian policeman was also injured in the incident.
The father who was shot is 49 years old and is in a hospital in Bucharest. The other man was arrested by the Bulgarian police.
The Ministry of the Interior announced that on October 3 at around 6 p.m. a police operation was conducted due to a case of illegal logging in the area around the Danube. Employees of RU-Nikopol and the Regional Directorate of Forestry heard the sound of a chainsaw. They established contact with the individuals and gave them clear and comprehensible instructions. However, the Romanian citizens did not fulfill them and showed aggression towards the policemen and the foresters.
The police fired more than 15 warning shots with their service weapons, but this did not stop the aggression, the position of the Ministry of the Interior also states.
"One of the police officers was hit with the chainsaw, as a result of which he was injured. The second person who used the other dangerous device was detained by the officers. As a result of the displayed aggression, endangering the life and health of the employees, one of the persons who attacked the employees was shot unintentionally.
After that, steps were taken to provide adequate medical assistance to the victim, and with the assistance of the authorities of both countries, he was admitted to the nearest medical facility in Romania.
Minister of the Interior Atanas Ilkov held a telephone conversation with his colleague Katalin Predoyu in order to clarify the factual situation and the actions of the authorities on both sides.