Bio

Branimir Donchev Delchev was born on October 4, 1957. He had a twin brother named Delyan Delchev. The family was described as wealthy.

His father, Doncho Delchev, worked as the Deputy General Director of DSO "Stara Planina". Because of his job, his father traveled abroad often and spent very little time with the children. Branimir also had an older sister, Totka.

Branimir's mother suffered from a serious mental illness, described as cyclophenic or schizophrenic. In 1971 she died by suicide in the attic of the family home.

He was reported to be mentally unstable and was diagnosed with multiple mental illnesses. Those conditions were said to have been inherited from his mother. At age 17 he was a student at Sofia University.

Murder Story

On the evening of December 25, 1974, 17-year-old Branimir Donchev went to Dormitory Building №1 in Student City, Sofia. He was carrying his father's .380 Walther PP pistol, several seven-round magazines, and a Finnish knife. He arrived shortly before 20:00.

Some accounts say he had watched The Godfather that night and that the film affected him. He first went to Room 410 looking for his cousin-in-law. She was not there. Some sources say he left the room quickly after finding an unidentified man inside. Other sources say he entered and fired shots at nothing in particular.

Branimir forced his way into Room 519, where three people were celebrating a birthday for a Vietnamese exchange student. He opened fire. One person was killed instantly and two were wounded. One of the wounded later died in hospital on December 28.

After leaving Room 519, he shot and stabbed people in the dormitory hallways. He knocked on doors and fired into rooms. In one room he killed a young couple who were expecting a child. Several victims were both shot and stabbed.

Two students, Imet North and Stoyan Agov, tried to overpower him. Branimir seriously injured both men. Agov later died in hospital. Student Atanas Nachev finally subdued Branimir and restrained him until police arrived. Branimir shouted that he was a “special agent” and claimed a second shooter was inside the building.

Six people died at the scene and two more died later in hospital. Eight others were wounded. Among those killed were Stefan Stanchev, Wu Nong Swan, Boris Neychev, Valerie Petrov, Le Van Shang, Elena Drumeva, Stoyan Stoyanov, and Stoyan Petrov Agov. Those injured included Juan Thai Lan, Vladimir Krastev, Emilia Doicheva, Luis Eduardo Haramillo, Svetlana Krastanova, Atanas Nachev, Raycho Donchev, and Ismet Ademov. One of the killed and three of the injured were foreign nationals.

The Bulgarian Communist Party and the Secret Services later limited public information about the incident. Police searched Branimir’s home and his father was arrested for negligent possession of a weapon and later sentenced to four years in prison. Branimir underwent five forensic examinations and was diagnosed with severe schizophrenic psychosis. He was found insane and ordered to compulsory psychiatric treatment in a hospital in Lovech.

On February 7, 1975, while being escorted by two officers to the psychiatric hospital, Branimir tried to escape during a stop in the town of Pravets. He was fatally shot by the officers. He was later buried in an unnamed grave in Botevgrad. After the shooting, screenings of The Godfather in Bulgaria were restricted and some scenes were censored.