Man shot in central Tbilisi in critical but stable condition

A man shot in central Tbilisi in an incident on Thursday that left one dead and two injured is in critical but stable condition, an update on the development said on Friday. 

Doctors at Tbilisi’s Khechinashvili University Hospital managed to stabilise the condition of the injured individual, who is undergoing treatment in the facility’s intensive care unit.

The Hospital’s Traumatology Department Head Vato Gvazava told the press the patient had suffered several injuries mainly to his limbs, with none of the internal organs damaged. He added the individual had been apparently shot from close range a number of times. 

The incident took place on Gogebashvili Street in Tbilisi, in a densely populated area, late on Thursday, with police now investigating the case for premeditated murder. The Interior Ministry on Thursday said a suspect had also been identified. 

Witnesses told the media the exchange of fire took place near the apartment of one of the persons injured in the incident, with the deceased reportedly shot dead by his target’s bodyguards. 

Media reports also said one of the two injured was an onlooker walking from a nearby market, with the other person caught in the shooting reportedly receiving lighter injuries.  

In the latest update on the case, the Georgian Special Investigative Service on Friday said it had arrested a senior inspector of the Security Police Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for premeditated murder and unlawful carrying of arms. 

The agency said the detainee had fired shots to the perpetrator after the latter shot a relative to  the individual he had been assigned to protect, in the evening hours near a restaurant on the street.