Hundreds of people have escalated their protest on Wednesday, one day after a police officer shot and killed a 25-year-old man in the early morning hours.
The protest seems to have been called by several popular social media accounts focusing on political memes.
At 16:00 on Wednesday, protesters gathered in front of the Ministry of Interior to demand the resignation of Interior Minister Sander Lleshaj.
Then they moved in front of the Prime Minister’s Office a few hundred meters away, chanting antigovernmental slogans. They started to throw stones on the building, and vandalized a Christmas tree standing there.
Special police forces rushed in to form a cordon between protesters and the building.
The media have reported at least eight police officers and two protesters injured.
The incident happened in early morning hours, during coronavirus curfew hours. The police said the 25-year-old man made suspicious movements and refused to stop when officers asked him. They added that they had to run after him, and one of the officers shot the boy, thinking that he was armed.
The ministry department overseeing the work of police said they found a firearm in one of the streets where the victim passed.
The protest demanding the minister’s resignation is ongoing.
