NAME/ 2021 Velipoja massacre, the accused breaks security measure and escapes! Three years under house arrest, he was under police guard

Hasan Ferracaku, one of the suspects alleged to have taken part in the massacre that took place in Velipoja 5 years ago, in which 4 people were killed and two were injured, has escaped from his home in Shkodër.

Hasan Ferracaku was under the “house arrest” measure and was being guarded 24 hours a day by Shkodër police, but despite this he managed to escape police surveillance and flee in an unknown direction.

Ferracaku, after his pre-trial detention limits had expired as one of the suspects in the killing that took place in Velipoja, was placed under “house arrest” by the court, but with 24-hour supervision.

Ferracaku had been under guard by police officers for nearly 3 years and found a way to escape for reasons that are still unclear.

Hasan Ferracaku (photo below) was one of the two injured in the June 26, 2021 massacre in Velipoja, together with his 17-year-old nephew E.D., who were arrested immediately after the serious incident.

Hasan Ferracaku, one of the suspects alleged to have taken part in the massacre that took place in Velipoja 5 years ago, in which 4 people were killed and two were injured, has escaped from his home in Shkodër.

Velipoja victims

Hasan Ferracaku was under the “house arrest” measure and was being guarded 24 hours a day by Shkodër police, but despite this he managed to escape police surveillance and flee in an unknown direction.

Ferracaku, after his pre-trial detention limits had expired as one of the suspects in the killing that took place in Velipoja, was placed under “house arrest” by the court, but with 24-hour supervision.

Ferracaku had been under guard by police officers for nearly 3 years and found a way to escape for reasons that are still unclear.

Hasan Ferracaku (photo below) was one of the two injured in the June 26, 2021 massacre in Velipoja, together with his 17-year-old nephew E.D., who were arrested immediately after the serious incident.

Hasan Ferracaku

In that gun clash, Kujtim Ferracaku, 59, and the two brothers Edmond Gocaj, 38, and Xhovani Gocaj, 25, were killed, as well as 20-year-old waiter Myzerim Zeneli, who was on his first day of work. Over that incident, police at the time also declared Hasan Ferracaku’s 3 sons wanted: Abedin, Shyqyri and Besmir Ferracaku.

The killing of four citizens and the wounding of two others came after a conflict between the Gocaj family and the Ferracaku family over a plot of sunbeds on Velipoja beach.

The dispute escalated into the use of weapons. Two pistols were seized at the scene, one found at the crime scene and the other at the Gocaj family’s hotel.

The prosecution file says that the brothers Hasan and Kujtim Ferracaku had clashed with the Gocaj brothers over the division of sunbeds on the beach and in the evening they met to clear things up.

Testimony shows that members of the Ferracaku family went armed to the Gocaj family’s hotel and sat at a table with Edmond Gocaj. From the inspection of the crime scene, it was concluded that 4 weapons were used: a Kalashnikov by Xhovani Gocaj and three pistols by Kujtim Ferracaku, Hasan Ferracaku and the latter’s son Abedin.

According to Hasan Ferracaku, Edmond Gocaj, who was sitting at the table, fired the first shot, and Kujtim Ferracaku then returned fire. His nephew described a different sequence of events.

The 17-year-old E.D. is quoted as saying that he heard his grandfather say, “these have been taken, who are you,” and after that moment he heard gunshots coming from behind him on his side.

The prosecution has seized security camera footage to better understand how the conflict began.

This case is still continuing in court, with no final decision yet on the killing of four people and the wounding of two others.