Roma village shooting result of dispute between families
Novo Mesto, 17 September - A criminal investigation into a 8 September shooting in the Roma village of Šmihel in south Slovenia in which a young girl suffered gunshot wounds has confirmed preliminary reports that the shooting was the culmination of a dispute between two Roma families.
Novo Mesto police said on Tuesday two neighbouring families started to quarrel, apparently because one family was convinced the other family had reported them to the authorities for illegally building a house.
It started with pepper spray and fist fights, whereupon a 51-year-old man pulled out a pistol and started shooting. A young girl was shot in the leg and another child suffered mild injuries when a shrapnel ricocheted, said France Božičnik, the head criminal investigator at the Novo Mesto Police Department.
After shooting the girl, the shooter approached a 17-year-old and aimed at him too, but the weapon did not go off. Two more persons sustained minor injuries trying to escape the shooter.
The pistol was found to have been stolen during a 2013 burglary in the Celje area. The shooter, who has been charged with two counts of attempted murder and three other offences, has been remanded in custody.
After the shooter was taken into custody, his house was burnt down. Two days later, a trailer he owns burnt down as well. Police suspect arson and the investigation is ongoing.
The shooting was the latest in a series of incidents involving the Roma that have soured relations with the majority population in southeastern Slovenia and led to calls for beefed up security, strict enforcement of laws and action to better integrate the Roma.
Sebastjan Virant, the head of general police tasks at the Novo Mesto Police Department, said an uptick in property crime and public law and order violations had been recorded in the area covered by the Novo Mesto police in the first six months of the year.
"The largest number of such crimes were detected in the municipalities Šentjernej, Škocjan and Brežice," he said, naming three municipalities with sizeable Roma populations.
Data on crime committed by the Roma does not exist, however, as the police do not analyse crimes of ethnicity.
Virant said police had beefed up presence in the area since July. "Because of permanent police presence there are fewer violations, which is also seen as positive by locals."