Sozinovs stated that, in line with the previous report, a driver caused an accident in Rīga around 18:55 and then fled the scene. The police tried to stop him and block the road, but the driver refused to obey and proceeded to ram into the pursuing cars.
Damage was done to police cars and other vehicles that happened to be on the path of the chase. The municipal police was also engaged.
Meanwhile, eyewitnesses have told LETA that the police had fired several shots at the escaping driver. According to videos eyewitnesses posted on social media, more than ten shots were fired at the vehicle.
The dangerous chase on the Rīga-Daugavpils highway ended 30 kilometers further, in Ogre. The police succeeded in stopping the driver – he was shot and taken to a hospital.
Two Rīga City Municipal Police officers and one traffic police officer were also delivered to the hospital.
“Several Rīga Municipal Police crews assisted the State Police in catching the offender. Unfortunately, one crew got into an accident on Maskavas iela. No other cars, except the police ones, were involved in the accident. Both officers who were in the car are hospitalized,” said Toms Sadovskis, spokesman for the Riga Municipal Police.
Sozinovs stated that it is possible the detainee drove under the influence of drugs or alcohol. LETA reported, however, that the Police have identified the offender as a man born in 1980, who was in hiding for property-related crimes.
The man is now under medical and police surveillance at a hospital in Ogre. He was shot twice and is wounded in the left temporal bone and the frontal bone. He has underwent surgery, which lasted for 2.5 hours and is now receiving mechanical ventilation, according to LTV.
Later on July 25 police Sozinovs said that the police will review the use of firearms in detaining the escaping driver.
He said that several policemen fired a total of 15 rounds at the car and opined that police acted in a selfless manner in detaining the driver. Sozinovs likewise corrected the number of police who have suffered to four, and a woman and her child were also injured in the incident – none of them are in a serious condition, but a police motorcyclist broke one of his legs and possibly the collarbone as the fleeing driver ran into the motorcycle.
Sozinovs said that according to information at hand the driver's condition is stable. He said the driver in the bloody case was wanted for stealing cars.
LTV newsroom have also obtained the below video which shows Rīga Municipal Police engaged in the chase.
