21-year-old shot police officer in the elbow and fled in service vehicle – arrested in Radovljica
A Slovenian citizen took a pistol from a police officer and shot him, then fled towards Gorenjska. He was arrested in Radovljica, and the police officer was operated on at Ljubljana University Medical Centre.
Extensive police operation following shooting of traffic police officer
Siol.net reports that today on Ljubljana's ring road at the Šmartno exit, a 21-year-old Slovenian citizen attacked a traffic police officer, took his service pistol and shot him in the elbow. He then fled in a police car in the direction of Gorenjska.
The suspect had been detained the previous evening for driving under the influence of narcotics and was released from police custody in the morning. Shortly afterwards, he caused a traffic accident on the ring road. When two traffic police officers and a Darsa employee arrived at the scene, the suspect attacked one of the police officers.
According to Planet TV's unofficial report, the police officer had exited his vehicle before the incident and left his pistol in the car. When the suspect spotted the pistol, he took it and opened fire at the police officer. According to Večer, the injured police officer has worked as a traffic police officer for more than 35 years.
In the stolen police vehicle, in addition to the pistol, there were also service rifles as part of standard equipment. Police officers traced the suspect in the Lesce area and arrested him in Radovljica following a pursuit. A video of the arrest was shared on the social network X.
During the escape, police officers interrupted police radio communications to prevent the suspect from being able to follow the coordination of the manhunt. They also secured the area around schools, nurseries and healthcare facilities in the affected area.
The Gorenjska motorway at the Šmartno exit in the direction of Kranj was closed for several hours due to the crime scene investigation.
The police officer's life is not in danger. He was taken to Ljubljana University Medical Centre, where he underwent surgery for the injured elbow. According to information known so far, no other persons were injured, the Ljubljana Police Directorate clarified.
The 21-year-old suspect has been remanded in custody. Detectives and police officers are continuing to gather information and verify the circumstances. The motive for the attack remains unknown. "Due to the interest of the investigation, which is still proceeding intensively, we are unable to provide further details at this time," police stated.
The Minister for Internal Affairs and police leadership presented details of the police operation at an afternoon press conference.
Source: Google News SI — Crime (sl)