A man on trial opened fire in a courtroom in the Albanian capital on October 6, killing a judge and injuring two other people, police said, in one of the most shocking acts of violence to hit the country’s justice system in years.

Judge Astrit Kalaja was presiding over a hearing at the Court of Appeal in Tirana when the suspect, identified in a police statement as E. Sh., aged 30, allegedly drew a firearm and began shooting. The judge and two other participants in the case — a father and son — were struck by bullets.

“Police services upon receiving the notice immediately went to the scene and made it possible to capture and escort the suspected author, citizen E. Sh., as well as seized the crime weapon,” the Albania State Police said in a statement. 

“The investigative team continues operations under the direction of the Tirana General Jurisdiction Prosecutor.”

The other two victims, identified as R. K., 65, and E. K., 45, were hospitalised but remained in stable condition, police said. 

Prime Minister Edi Rama expressed condolences to Kalaja’s family, calling the shooting “a tragic event” that showed the need for both institutional reflection and tougher penalties for gun-related crimes.

“Fraternal condolences to the family of the late judge Astrit Kalaja and may he rest in peace,” Rama said in a post on social media platform X. “Criminal aggression against a judge undoubtedly requires the most extreme legal response against the aggressor.”

Rama said the shooting exposed weaknesses in court security and called for a rethink of how protection is organised for judges and court personnel.

“This tragedy requires a reflection on the internal security system of the courts, which, in addition to requiring certain technological equipment by law, cannot remain a matter of choosing security employees by the court administration, excluding any involvement of the State Police — in the name of judicial independence!,” he wrote. 

He also renewed his call for “significant tightening of the Penal Code's punishment for illegal possession of weapons” and urged judges to stop treating such offences leniently. “I … pray that this shocking moment will prompt a reflection on the ease with which illegal possession of weapons is usually treated in judicial proceedings,” he added.

President Bajram Begaj condemned the killing in a Facebook post, describing it as “a terrible attack” against the entire justice system.

“I am deeply shocked and condemn with the harshest language the intolerable act of murder in charge of judge Astrit Kalaja,” Begaj said. “This terrible attack on the distinguished judge, but also on justice as such, must be faced by all society with the deepest contempt and dissent, because this act is the macabre assassination against the system itself, on which coexistence and social peace are the foundations.”

Albania has carried out wide-reaching judicial reforms in recent years as part of its EU accession process. 

The shooting comes amid renewed concern about the prevalence of illegal firearms in the Western Balkans, a region where large caches of weapons remain from the conflicts of the 1990s.

According to the Small Arms Survey, countries such as Montenegro and Serbia have some of the highest rates of gun ownership in Europe. Albania has also struggled to curb the circulation of unregistered weapons despite several amnesty campaigns.

The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime has described the region as “awash with weapons,” warning that illegal arms feed not only domestic violence but also organised crime networks involved in human trafficking and drug smuggling.