Story By: Ana Marjanovic, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Golder’s News and Sport
This is the kickboxing champion who has been shot dead at a sandwich shop and police reportedly suspect he was murdered by a young MMA fighter.
Former Bosnian champion Dzemal Mahmic, 33, was reportedly murdered in the morning of Tuesday 22nd October in Londza, a village located in the Zenica-Doboj Canton in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Local media report the incident occurred at around 9 am at a sandwich shop where Mahmic was shot several times.
The assailant was seen fleeing the scene however there are no confirmed reports of the murderer’s identity. Emergency services tried to revive Mahmic but declared him dead at the scene shortly after.
The exact cause of death is unclear.
Local media report Bosnian Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter Anto Palavra, 21, is reportedly a prime suspect.
Palavra turned himself in for questioning after local media announced authorities were looking for him yet were unable to find him. It is unclear if Palavra is still being held in custody.
Palavra has no criminal record, however, local media report Palavra and Mahmic had an argument several days earlier which resulted in the murder.
Mahmic had reportedly been a victim of another two shootings after he was shot at in September 2012 which caused the death of a local, 18-year-old Amer Pivic as he waited for public transportation in the vicinity of the incident.
Mahmic also reportedly sustained a gunshot wound to his left knee and severe head injuries fracturing parts of his face and nose and in a shooting that occurred in Zenica at the end of 2011.
Local media report Mahmic won multiple championships in Bosnia and Herzegovina as a kickboxer and he was considered one of the country’s most promising fighters at one time.
Palavra fights for his local club Zenica in the middleweight weight class where he has had three wins and four losses as a professional.
Local media report the investigation is ongoing. No arrests have been reported.
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