Croatia: the heavy criminal past of the suspect in the murder of a pizza delivery man, arrested after two days on the run

A manhunt was launched to find him. A man suspected of fatally shooting a 19-year-old pizza delivery man was arrested this Monday morning by police in Croatia. He was in possession of a firearm and a large knife.

The events occurred on Saturday evening in the town of Drnis, in the south of the country. The young man was killed while trying to drop off an order at the suspect’s home.

Police Director Nikola Milina confirmed that the 50-year-old suspect had already served a 15-year prison sentence for the murder of a woman who was stabbed to death in the 1990s.

Since his release, he had also been prosecuted for illegal possession of weapons, but it was not immediately known whether he had already been tried for this offense.

“A horrible tragedy”

“It’s a horrible tragedy,” responded Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic at a press conference in Rovinj, in northern Croatia.

The minister deplored that a man with such a long criminal record could be at large, while emphasizing that this type of decision was a matter for the courts and not the police.

Protesters called a rally outside the court in the neighboring town of Zadar to express their anger at the tragedy which they say could have been avoided. A day of mourning was proclaimed on Tuesday in Drnis.