A local politician has died from gunshot wounds during a shooting party organized Saturday in southwest Romania, police said.
Cristian Robu, a town counselor was shot in the chest by his children’s godfather during a hunting expedition. He apparently mistook Robu, 36, for a pheasant.
Police received a call at about 10am local time from the man who shot him, also a local politician. Police and medics arrived at the scene but were unable to resuscitate him. He was pronounced dead 90 minutes later.
The shooting occurred in the Livezile, a small village near the Serbian border..
”Rural police were alerted about a hunting expedition in which a 36-year-old man was accidentally shot by a man the same age,” Timis police said.
Police are investigating the man for manslaughter. They said the hunt had been authorized.
Mr Robu was a member of the Pro-Romania party and counselor in the Deta town hall. The man who shot him was a member of the Social Democracy Party.
Hunting has become increasingly popular among Romania’s nouveaux riches and political elite.
Many are inspired by late Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu who was an avid hunter.
Ceausescu would hunt bears, wild boars, or black goats in the mountains, sometimes accompanied by other communist leaders such as Yugoslavia’s Josip Broz Tito or Bulgarian President Todor Zhivkov.
