BULGARIAN OPPOSITION LEADER ESCAPES ASSASSINATION LIVE ON TV

Bloodied and furious-looking man being dragged away by security officials 

In an amazing stroke of luck, Bulgarian opposition leader Ahmed Dogan narrowly escaped a shocking assassination attempt on Saturday as a man stormed the stage with a pistol pointed directly into his face as he was addressing a crowd. The would-be assassin misfired giving Dogan enough time to hit the gun out of the way. Before the would-be assassin could fire again, security personnel rushed and wrestled him to the ground, and attendees from the audience jumped the stage, raining blows on him.  Television footage shows the attempted murderer, dressed entirely in black, rushing out of the audience onto the stage before leveling a gun directly into Dogan's eyes and pulling the trigger.

 The man was severally kicked and beaten by the onlookers, before taken away by the security. Security officials also arrested a man suspected to be a co-conspirator who was found in possession of two knives in the audience.

Dogan is leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, a liberal party that represents Bulgaria's Turkish minority. Reports revealed that the likely assassination attempt was carried out by Bulgarian neo-Nazi groups, which have become notorious for attacks on foreigners and minority populations – focusing especially on Muslims.