Criminal investigation opens into shooting death of man by police officer

The Prosecutor's Office with the Bucharest Tribunal has opened a criminal investigation into the circumstances that led to the shooting death of a 37-year-old man by a police office on a mission in the Pajura Quarter, District 1, Bucharest City.

According to a statement from the Prosecutor's Office, a criminal prosecutor on Wednesday conducted an investigation at the scene together with police officers from the Homicide Service and the Forensic Service.

Also, a forensic autopsy was ordered at the Mina Minovici Institute of Forensic Medicine in Bucharest.

During the investigation, several people were heard, including members of the enforcement teams, and footage captured by surveillance cameras in the area were taken out to be used in the investigation.

"From the criminal investigation procedures so far conducted, it has resulted that one of the police agents who intervened to take out the man in question, who was armed with several sharp objects, was forced to use the gun in his possession as the person in question did not heed the verbal warnings and initiated a physical attack against the law enforcement officer," the prosecutors specify.

The incident happened on Tuesday night. A person called the 112 emergency line at around 04:00hrs to report that a man, dressed only in underwear was pacing down the halls of a block of flats in the Pajura neighbourhood threatening people with several sharp objects in his possession. Rushing to the scene were cops officers from Precinct 5, who after a few minutes tracked the man. At the sight of the cops, the man became violent and managed to hit them, then ran away. He was tracked at a higher story in the block, where he tried to hit them again and threatened the police officers, which is why, after the warnings, one of the officers opened fire with a gun, injuring the man. The man was taken to hospital for medical treatment, but died in the end.