Hunter charged over fatal shooting of car thief in Ventspils area
Latvian prosecutors have charged a man over the June 2024 shooting of a car thief in the Ventspils municipality. The investigation is not finished, so it is unclear which Criminal Law provisions the charge is based on.
The Latvian prosecutor's office has brought charges against a man who is a hunter over the shooting of a car thief in the Ventspils municipality. The incident took place on 23 June 2024 in Vārve parish, where a property owner fired a hunting rifle in the direction of the thief and wounded him. The victim died in a medical facility.
Citing the fact that the investigation has not been completed, the prosecutor's office did not provide further details. It is therefore not known whether the man is being charged under the same Criminal Law provisions that the State Police had proposed.
Provisions proposed by police
The State Police had proposed charging the hunter with intentionally causing serious bodily harm that, through the offender's negligence, resulted in the victim's death. Police also proposed a charge of violating firearm use rules, where the offence is committed by a person permitted to carry a firearm and leads to serious consequences – in this case, a person's death.
How events unfolded
According to police, at around 3 a.m. the State Police received a report of thefts from several properties in Vārve parish. One of the owners took his hunting rifle and fired in the direction of the thief. Police opened a criminal case and the man was detained.
The investigation established that the thief came onto the property and most likely tried to steal a car, but could not drive out of the enclosed grounds. The owner maintained that he acted in self-defence. However, expert examinations showed the bullet struck the thief in the back, in the hip area. This indicates the victim had not directly attacked the owner but had turned his back to him, police said.
