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.
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 results of the criminal investigation, the 20-year-old 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 great 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.
Police suspect that the 62-year-old illegally kept in his home an automatic rifle with five accompanying magazines and a grenade launcher attachment, a silencer, and 78 rounds of prohibited ammunition. Of these, 57 rounds were military ammunition with markings on the bullets, and 21 rounds were military ammunition with armor-piercing incendiary bullets. These are weapons and ammunition that civilians are not allowed to possess at all.
Additionally, several dozen other rounds of ammunition, three rifle barrels, and a Category B rifle that he held without a permit, as well as two Category C pistols that he failed to report to 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 Karlovac Police Department states that the 62-year-old kept these weapons until August 4, and among the found ammunition were 57 rounds with distinctive bullets and 21 rounds with armor-piercing incendiary bullets, which is completely prohibited for civilians.
The 20-year-old has also been criminally charged. In addition to 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 determined that the 20-year-old did not keep several pieces of Category B weapons and ammunition, which he legally owned, at his registered address, but rather at the 62-year-old's house. Therefore, both will receive misdemeanor charges filed with the competent municipal court under the Law on the Acquisition and Possession of Weapons by Citizens.
According to the Karlovac Police Department, the 20-year-old handled the explosive device recklessly, without regard for the danger or other people in the house.
In the explosion, the 20-year-old sustained severe, life-threatening injuries and was airlifted by emergency medical helicopter to Zagreb for treatment. His 62-year-old father was also seriously injured, while his 22-year-old older brother sustained minor injuries. The father and older brother were treated at the Karlovac hospital and were 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 windshields on nearby cars. In the first hours after the explosion, police said it was possible that an improvised device or military explosive was involved, but today's statement does not specify the exact type of explosive device.
