In the town of Mielnik in Podlasie, a soldier of the 18th Mechanized Division arbitrarily left the camp area with his service weapon. He fired shots at a civilian vehicle and then took shelter in a nearby forest, informed the Operational Command of the Branches of the Armed Forces. It was reported that the man was detained by soldiers of the Task Force in Mielnik, and preliminary findings indicate that he was intoxicated.
“Today in the afternoon in the town of Mielnik (Podlaskie Voivodeship), a soldier of the 18th Mechanized Division carrying out tasks as part of the Safe Podlasie operation, after voluntarily leaving the camp area with his service weapon, fired shots at a civilian vehicle, then took shelter in a nearby forest,” it was written in a message on the X platform.
“As a result of immediate search activities, he was immediately captured by soldiers of the Task Force in Mielnik. No third parties were injured in the incident. Preliminary findings show that the soldier was in a state of intoxication,” we read further. It was added that “explanatory activities are being carried out by the Military Police in Białystok.”
There were two people in the car
The spokesman for Operation Safe Podlasie, Lieutenant Colonel Kamil Dołęzka, said in an interview with TVN24 that no one was hurt after the soldier fired the shot. A man and his teenage daughter were driving in the car he shot at. He most likely used a service weapon of the Grot type. He was arrested a few minutes after the incident.
Lieutenant Colonel Dołęzka said that the man did not belong to the Territorial Defense Forces, but was a soldier of the task force in Mielnik. The motives for his actions are not known yet.
Earlier, the fact that such an event had occurred was confirmed by Tomasz Krupa, spokesman for the Podlasie police, in an interview with TVN24.
Main photo source: Darek Delmanowicz/PAP