Aleksei Petrov, former secretary of Bulgaria’s national security agency (DANS) and former member of the Communist-era police counter-terrorism unit, was shot dead in the capital Sofia on August 16.

Petrov, who has survived a few assassination attacks in the past, was walking with an unidentified woman on Vitosha mountain and was killed with a rifle, the police and the prosecution said at press briefing live broadcasted by Dnevnik news outlet.

The woman was also wounded and taken to hospital with some media reporting she has died, while others wrote she was still alive. She reportedly gave a description of the shooter before losing consciousness.

Petrov had become more active publicly in the past few months, offering his services to DANS once again. Local media reported this was a sign of improved relations between Petrov and the leader of the ruling Gerb party, Boyko Borissov.

In the 1990s, the two had a joint company. Petrov was also the founder of two insurance companies in the early 1990s, Apolo and Balkan and Spartak, which were rumoured to have been involved in blackmailing businesses to pay for protection.

In 2001, Petrov rejoined the security services. However, in 2010, he was arrested and accused of being involved in the so-called Octopus case. At the time, prosecutors accused Petrov of heading a criminal group involved in tax frauds, racketeering, physical assaults, prostitution and human trafficking. He was acquitted in 2021.

In 2011, Petrov ran for president but got less than 1% of the votes.

In July this year, Petrov said in his last public interview, for Bulgarian National Radio, that the government backed by Gerb and Change Continues-Democratic Bulgaria is the best possible option for the country due to the Russian war in Ukraine.

Petrov had previously spoken out in May after an alleged terrorist attack on then chief prosecutor Ivan Geshev, saying he must resign. Geshev was subsequently sacked for harming the prestige of the judiciary.

Petrov also said he was willing to join DANS again and work for its economic security division.

His name was involved in the talks between Gerb and CC-DB on their joint government. There were rumours that Petrov organised a meeting between key members of the two formations and also participated in it. However, he denied that at the time.

Petrov was twice targeted by would-be assassins before the shooting on August 15. Back in August 2002, he survived an assassination attack, though the two assailants wounded him in the chest. In October 2015, Petrov’s car was attacked but he survived again.