Parties
Bardhi on young man shot in the eye: prosecutors must identify who gave the order and who fired “today, not tomorrow”
PD parliamentary group leader Gazment Bardhi demanded the immediate arrest of whoever ordered or fired the shot that hit Erjon Vishkulli during the protest in Tirana.
By ANN Newsroom · Newsroom
October 24, 2026, 22:32 · Updated 18:40 · 2 min read
In brief
- Bardhi asked the Tirana Prosecutor's Office to identify who gave the order and who fired.
- According to him, the young man was shot in the eye and was in the operating room as doctors tried to save his left eye.
- The lawmaker ended his reaction with the call “Justice for Erion!”
Gazment Bardhi, head of the Democratic Party's parliamentary group, reacted Saturday evening after a young man was injured during the protest in Tirana, urging the Tirana Prosecutor's Office to act immediately. According to reports, protester Erjon Vishkulli was hit in the eye by a rubber bullet in the Skanderbeg Square area.
In a social media post, Bardhi asked prosecutors to identify “without any delay” the person who gave the order to shoot and the person who fired. “Today, not tomorrow,” he wrote, adding that whoever ordered or carried out the act must be identified, brought to justice and arrested in accordance with the law.
“A shot aimed at the eye”
The Democratic lawmaker described the injury as a shot aimed at the eye and said the young man was in the operating room, where doctors were trying to save the sight in his left eye. He described Vishkulli as a young patriot, an ultras fan of the national team and of Elbasani, who he said was protesting “for a better Albania” and had committed no crime.
Bardhi asked citizens to pray for the young man's recovery and expressed solidarity with him and his family, closing his reaction with the slogan “Justice for Erion!”
A case at the center of the debate
Vishkulli's injury became one of the most talked-about moments of the 12th day of protests. Footage of the bloodied young man circulated widely, as he was taken to the Trauma Hospital in a Report TV vehicle. PD leader Sali Berisha also raised the case at his news conference, accusing police of using weapons in breach of the rules. By the evening, police had not made a specific statement on the case.
