The Bosnian Prosecutor’s Office confirms that it is investigating the incident as an act of terrorism after the arrest of the suspect
A 14-year-old boy has killed a policeman and seriously injured another at a police station in Bosnia and Herzegovina in an attack that has been classified by the Prosecutor’s Office as a terrorist crime, after the young man entered the premises and attacked the officers with a knife, the authorities confirmed on Friday.
“The acting prosecutor went to the scene together with the Scientific Police. A minor was found at the scene and was immediately arrested. The prosecutor, with my consent, has classified this event as a terrorist crime,” said in a press conference the chief prosecutor of the Una-Sana canton, Merima Mesanovic, the region where the incident occurred, according to public radio and television BHRT.
Mesavonic said that “unofficially” the motive for the incident was “an attack on an institution with the aim of intimidating the population.” The incident occurred late on Thursday at the police station in the town of Bosanka Krupa, in the northwest of the country, when a young man attacked two police officers with a knife. One of them died, while the other, the cantonal government said, underwent surgery and is currently out of danger.
For his part, Amel Kozlica, the head of the Una-Sana police administration, regretted the incident and expressed his condolences to the families of those affected. “Several police agencies are involved in this incident and the investigation will be carried out as a priority. At this time we cannot talk about other actions that we will take in order to protect the investigation,” he added.
The police official assured that the situation in the canton is under control and that a greater police presence can be seen on the ground.
The regional government spokeswoman also said that, according to the acting prosecutor when the incident occurred, this crime “contains characteristics of article 201 of the penal code regarding terrorism. “Measures are being taken in this direction with the aim of determining the motive and circumstances of the unfortunate incident,” she added.
“The investigation is ongoing, we have made everything available… We cannot give details about the operational part because it is a minor,” said the Minister of the Interior of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ramo Isak, to public television BHRT.
The head of this portfolio has detailed that messages have been sent to the leaders of the different cantons “to raise the level of security to a higher level.” “We are in constant coordination with the cantonal president. Any necessary decision will be taken, the competent institutions are working, now we have to see how to get out of this situation and what we must do to avoid it,” he added.
