On Saturday, an attempted assassination attempt took place on television during a conference involving the leader of Bulgaria’s Turkish ethnic party. Ahmed Dogan is the leader of Bulgaria’s Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) party. Dogan was assaulted on stage at the National Palace of Culture in Sofia by a gunman.
The gunman was identified as Oktai Enimehmedov, 25. He climbed onto the stage and pointed a gun at Dogan’s head. When the assailant tried to fire the gun, it reportedly got stuck and could not fire. This provided Dogan with enough time to swat the gunman’s arm as he was then assisted by security guards.
The two wrestled on the stage as security guards arrived to apprehend him. Boos loudly rang out throughout the crowd. The gunman was reportedly beaten by officials and delegates in the crowd.
“He was not in a good shape, there was blood on his face,” said Prosecutor Nikolay Kokinov. “He told us his version about what motivated him, but I will not discuss it at this point.”
The attacker was armed with two knives in addition to the gun. He is a native of Bourgas, who has two other convictions. Those convictions include causing bodily harm in 2006 and drug possession in 2010.
“Ahmed Dogan is in good health. Everything is under control,” MRF official Ceyhan Ibryamov told Reuters on Saturday.
