Overview

• Judge Astrit Kalaja died en route to the hospital after the defendant opened fire during an appeals hearing in Tirana.
• Police detained the suspected shooter immediately at the scene and set up a security cordon around the courthouse.
• A father and his son from the opposing party were shot and hospitalized, and officials reported their condition as stable.
• Media reports say the case concerned a property dispute and suggest the defendant expected to lose the case.
• Prime Minister Edi Rama condemned the attack and urged harsher penalties for gun crimes, and President Bajram Begaj called it an assault on the justice system.