Judge dies after shooting in Albania courtroom

A Judge has died after being shot in the chest as he announced the verdict in a property case before him. The suspect also injured two people after opening fire at the Tirana Court on Monday.

According to Law enforcement, Judge Astrit Kalaja was presiding during a hearing at the court or appeal over a property dispute and the man opened fire as soon as the judge announced in favour of the other party. 

They added that he was promptly arrested at the scene with his weapon seized and that Kalaja succumbed to his injuries on the way to the hospital. 

The suspect was identified by the police in a statement simply as "E. Sh, 30 years old."

The police are yet to comment on the motive behind the shooting or how the gun was smuggled through the court’s security system.

The other party to the case, a father and son were also shot at but are currently in a stable condition at the hospital. 

Local media reports that the suspect was in the courtroom alongside his uncle, a party to the property dispute before he attacked people in the court room with a gun.

Prime Minister Edi Rama has reacted to the serious incident in a statement released on Monday. 

He condoled with the family of the late judge and called for justice to run its course saying that "criminal aggression against a judge undoubtedly requires the most extreme legal response against the aggressor."

Rama also in his statement called for the of the Penal code's punishment for illegal possession of weapons to be made more stringent.

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