After a 16-day investigation, police have filed criminal charges against the father and his seriously injured 20-year-old son, and an arsenal of illegal weapons and prohibited ammunition was found in the home.
The police have filed criminal charges against a 62-year-old man and his 20-year-old son following an explosion that severely damaged a family home in the village of Vodena Draga in the Bosiljevo municipality on August 3, 2026, at around 5:50 PM. Three people were injured in the blast, and the investigation revealed that the house contained a significant amount of illegal weapons and military ammunition.
According to the findings of the criminal investigation, the 20-year-old had acquired and kept in the house an unknown explosive device, the acquisition and possession of which is completely prohibited for civilians. Subsequently, on August 3 at around 5:50 PM, without thinking and disregarding the danger, he used this device with high destructive power in the enclosed space of the house where other people were present. This led to an unintended activation and a powerful explosion that caused significant property damage and severe, life-threatening bodily injuries.
The police suspect that the 62-year-old man illegally kept in his home an automatic rifle with five accompanying magazines and a grenade launcher attachment, a suppressor, and 78 rounds of prohibited ammunition. Of these, 57 were military rounds with markings on the projectiles and 21 were military rounds with armor-piercing incendiary projectiles. These are weapons and ammunition that civilians are not allowed to possess at all.
Additionally, several dozen other rounds of ammunition, three rifle barrels, one Category B rifle held without a permit, and two Category C pistols that were not reported to the authorities were found in the possession of the 62-year-old. A criminal report has been filed against him on suspicion of illegal possession, manufacture, and procurement of weapons and explosives.
The 20-year-old has also been criminally charged. In addition to the illegal possession of weapons and explosive substances, he has been charged with the criminal offense of endangering life and property by a dangerous act or means, committed through negligence.
It was also established that the 20-year-old did not keep several Category B weapons and ammunition, which he legally owned, at his registered address, but rather at the home of the 62-year-old. As a result, both will receive misdemeanor charges filed with the competent municipal court under the Law on the Acquisition and Possession of Weapons by Citizens.
In the explosion, the 20-year-old sustained life-threatening injuries and was airlifted by emergency medical helicopter to Zagreb for treatment. His 62-year-old father was also seriously injured, while the 22-year-old older brother sustained minor injuries. The father and older brother were treated at Karlovac Hospital and are out of life-threatening danger.
Index reported immediately after the incident that the explosion had collapsed two opposite walls of the wooden house, scattered furniture, and the force of the blast cracked the windshields of nearby cars. In the first hours after the explosion, police stated that it was possible the device was improvised or military-grade explosives, but today's statement does not specify the exact type of explosive device.
