Ervis Kurtaj, the young man who was injured along with his father Rakip Kurtaj during the murder of Judge Astrit Kalaja by Elvis Shkëmbi, has shared details from the serious incident. He was in the courtroom with his father, as a party to the legal proceedings over a property issue in Shkodër.

Ervis Kurtaj told investigators: "When Judge Astrit Kalaja made a decision in our favor, at that moment Elvis was taken from the chair and approached him, shooting him several times with a firearm. It appeared to be a small weapon, but as soon as I heard the shots, I grabbed my father by the hand and started to leave towards the corridor where, as soon as I passed the door of the hall, Elvis turned and shot at us."

45-year-old Ervis Kurtaj received a bullet in his arm that exited the other side. He was released from the hospital yesterday and is in good health. Meanwhile, his father, Rakip Kurtaj, 65, suffered rib injuries and is still in the hospital under the care of doctors, but his life is out of danger.
The serious incident occurred on October 6 at around 15:30 at the Court of Appeal in Tirana, where Judge Astrit Kalaja was giving the verdict when he was shot with three bullets by Elvis Shkëmbi, which took his life. In addition to the perpetrator of the crime, his uncle, Gjon Shkëmbi, and security guard Banush Koxhaj, who is suspected of allowing the perpetrator to enter the courtroom armed, have also been arrested. Ervis Kurtaj's testimony is expected to fully shed light on the event that shocked the justice institutions, but also public opinion in our country.

DYNAMICS
At 13:42 p.m., Elvis Shkambi and Gjon Shkambi entered the court's public waiting room and passed through the scanner (detector), one after the other. The presence of metal was signaled on the detector screen by flashing red lights, but Banush Koxha, a security officer at the Tirana Court of Appeal, remained seated in his chair and did not perform any physical check of these citizens or register them in the protocol book, where all persons entering and leaving the court premises must be recorded.

Elvis Shkambi and Gjon Shkambi remained in the court lobby until around 15:29, and then entered the courtroom (room no. 3). At 15:35, the parties stood up and, immediately after Judge Astrit Kalaja announced the verdict, Elvis Shkambi, who was in the courtroom, took out a pistol from his belt and shot several times at the judge, who, as a result of the injuries he received and after first aid, died during transport to the hospital.

At the same time, after this action, the perpetrator points his pistol and shoots once at citizens Rakip and Ervis Kurtaj, wounding both of them, who are currently in hospital out of danger to their lives. After the incident, the perpetrator left the courtroom and handed the weapon to the citizen, the judicial officer, for the supervision and progress of the judicial processes, in another courtroom. After going out into the yard, the perpetrator was immediately neutralized and handcuffed by the Police officers.