Originally appeared at HyperVocal.
Over in Bulgaria, an opposition leader had his own close-up brush with a gun on Saturday. A 25-year-old man jumped from the audience and pointed a gun at the head of Ahmed Dogan, long-time leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms Party, during a convention to elect new party leadership in Sofia.
In addition to the gas pistol, the assailant, Oktai Enimehmedov, also carried two knives (the gas pistol is actually a non-lethal weapon used for self-defense, but at that range could still do serious damage).
Reuters has more on the wild story, and video follows below:
“Ahmed Dogan is in good health. Everything is under control,” MRF official Ceyhan Ibryamov told journalists.
Police said they had arrested a 25-year-old man from the Black Sea town of Burgas who was also carrying two knives.
The liberal MRF party represents ethnic Turks and other Muslims who make up about 12 percent of Bulgaria’s 7.3 million-strong population.
Dogan is seen as one of Balkan country’s most influential political figures. The MRF was a junior partner in the previous Socialist-led cabinet.
