Bulgarian man shoots dead three Romani people before committing suicide

On Monday evening in Sofia a man of Bulgarian nationality allegedly shot dead three members of a Romani family who were his neighbors before committing suicide. Media reports say the tragedy took place in a part of the capital predominantly inhabited by Romani residents.

Ivan Kamlukov, a 67-year-old ethnic Bulgarian and former soldier in the Bulgarian Army, walked into the home of his Romani neighbors and started shooting at five adults and six children with a pistol. None of the children suffered physical injuries, but one 26-year-old Romani man was left dead at the scene.

Two women aged 28 and 56 and a 22-year-old man were hospitalized with life-threatening injuries. Both women passed away overnight. The assailant, who was also in critical condition, finally succumbed to his self-inflicted injuries as well.

Police and witnesses claim the man had been angered by smoke from tires burning in his neighbors' yard. Police were deployed to the predominantly Romani quarter to prevent further violence. Several Romani men gathered in front of the alleged murderer's home after the incident and threatened to destroy it.

The brutal, heartless murder was exploited by Angel Džambaski, the vice-chair of an extremist nationalist party called the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO). Džambaski announced that "ethnically tinged crime and violence" committed by Romani people is calling for a response.

During the 2011 census, more than 300 000 people declared Romani nationality out of the approximately 7.5 million inhabitants of Bulgaria. However, it is estimated that the actual number of Romani people there is at least twice that. Romani people are some of the most impoverished in the EU.

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