Police in Lithuania’s second largest city have detained a suspect after shots were fired at public transport on two consecutive evenings.
The shots were fired on Jozapavičiai Avenue on the evenings of the 2nd and the 3rd of February, at approximately the same time shortly after 9 in the evening. There were no injuries.
On the evening of the 3rd of February, a few minutes after 9 in the evening, a shot shattered the window of a moving trolleybus, and the driver stopped the vehicle and called the police. There were two passengers on the trolleybus at the time, and Rimas Stankaitis, head of the transport department at the city’s public transport operator Kauno Autobusai, informed that none of them were injured. He added that this is also the most important thing – the driver and passengers were not injured.
The day before, at about the same time and place, another trolleybus had its window shot out. There were no passengers on board at the time. Stankaitis said the trolleybuses are currently being repaired.
The incident has alarmed residents in the area.
Some LRT said they are now avoiding using public transport in the evenings and that vandalism is taking place in the area.
Police said a 32-year-old man was arrested an hour after the second shooting. He lives near the scene and was arrested on one of the streets adjacent to the trolleybus line. The arrests were made based on information provided by residents.
Kaunas Regional Prosecutor Jolita Raudeliūnienė said the man had previously been in the police’s sights and had been tried for property crimes and violent offenses. Initial information suggests that the man may have been under the influence of drugs at the time of the shooting.
Police are also investigating the possibility that the same man may have damaged a nearby car and a building window. During his arrest, a pneumatic weapon was found on the man. The man is currently in custody and could face up to five years in prison for the crime.
Read the full article in English here: https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/2828153/shots-fired-at-moving-trolleybuses-in-kaunas-suspect-detained
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