Nearly 70 shots were fired by a drunk soldier at the car in which a father and his daughter were driving. That means he emptied almost three magazines. Fortunately, after he first fired into the air, the girl managed to escape from the car and the bullets only hit her empty seat. The prosecutor's office has no doubt that it was attempted murder. How could this happen?
The detained soldier sobered up in police custody for almost a day before he was taken to interrogation.
– A soldier of the Mielnik task force, carrying out a task as part of the Safe Podlasie operation, left the group area with his service weapon – says Lt. Col. Kamil Dołęzka, spokesman for the operation.
The weapon was a Grot carbine. Its magazine holds 30 rounds. The soldier fired over 60 shots.
A hair's breadth away from tragedy
The soldier tried to stop a civilian Golf driven by a driver with his 13-year-old daughter. The terrified girl managed to get out before the bullet hit her seat. The attacker tried to escape, but was stopped by other soldiers. He had almost two per mille of alcohol in his body.
– The Białystok-Północ District Prosecutor's Office, military department, initiated an investigation into attempted murder. A decision to present charges was issued. There are several allegations – says Piotr Antoni Skiba, spokesman for the District Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw.
These are criminal threats, abuse of powers and attempted murder, which are punishable by life imprisonment. The Minister of National Defense announced on social media that the soldier would be dismissed from service.
The suspect is 25 years old. Since April last year, he has been doing voluntary compulsory military service in the 5th Podhale Rifles Battalion in Przemyśl. A month ago, he joined soldiers guarding the border with Belarus.
– Pursuant to the order, they were provided with service weapons. They have these weapons 24 hours a day, of course along with ammunition, says Dr. Paweł Bała, a lawyer.
“Sad Reality”
Soldier rotations last from three weeks to three months. After every 12 hours of service, they have a day to rest, but even then they are barracked. They are not allowed to drink alcohol. They can leave the camps for a short time in civilian clothes and without weapons, so as not to scare the inhabitants.
– After yesterday's incident, it's hard for me to imagine that we will now go out normally on the street – comments Marcin Urbański, mayor of the Mielnik commune.
Soldiers on missions never part with their weapons – this is standard in NATO armies. Specialists see the problem elsewhere.
– Politicians create truly ambitious plans to strengthen state security. Unfortunately, these plans crash into the sad reality. So, in addition to equipment, we need so-called human material – points out Zbigniew Świerczek, a shooting instructor and former anti-terrorist policeman.
The army has been guarding the border with Belarus for over three years. 17,000 soldiers take part in Operation Safe Podlasie.
Main photo source: TVN24