25-year-old Klodian Rasha was killed by a police officer on Tuesday night, in Tirana’s Lapraka neighborhood.
The Albanian state police claimed, yesterday, that the young man was “committing suspect actions” and failed to obey the police officer’s orders to stop.
He ran to get away from the police. The police additionally claim that it is suspected the young man was armed.
According to the police, the victim allegedly “ran away, pointing a hard object that looked like a firearm towards the police officer.” The police also reported that “following the inspection of the scene and the surrounding area, a firearm suspected to have belonged to the citizen K.R. was located.”
However, several hours later, the Internal Affairs Service (ShCBA) released a press announcement, providing additional information.
The firearm collected into evidence by the police was “found in one of the alleys the young man passed through when he was being chased by the police.”
Additionally, the young man was killed once the police officer couldn’t catch him. Officer N.H., finding himself unable to catch and cuff Rasha, “shot his service gun in [Rasha’s] direction.”
The officer was arrested following Rasha’s death and stands accused of homicide committed in excess of the necessary self-defense limits. Minister of Interior Sandër Lleshaj has expressed his condolences to the victim’s family.
When asked by the press, Rasha’s father said that his son was not armed. He was likely holding persimmons.
