Georgia police clash with suspected Bush attacker

[-Cp]

TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgian police tried to arrest on Wednesday a man they suspect of throwing a grenade during a speech by visiting President Bush in May, but he escaped after a gunfight, local media reported.

Police raided a property in the Vashli-Jvari suburb of Tbilisi where the suspect was hiding, Rustavi-2 Television station reported.

One policeman was killed and the suspect was wounded, it reported from the scene.

An operation was under way to find the suspect.

Georgian police on Monday announced a new $83,000 reward for information about the suspect.

U.S. officials said at the time that the grenade only failed to explode because of a malfunction and landed within 30 meters (100 feet) of the president as he spoke to tens of thousands of people in Tbilisi's Freedom Square.

The security scare blighted a trip intended to show Bush's support for the former Soviet state's West-leaning government, which came to power after a democratic revolution 20 months ago.

Officials said the grenade could have caused major injuries in the close-packed crowd, the largest gathering of people on the square since the "Rose Revolution" led by now-President Mikhail Saakashvili.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050720/ts_nm/georgia_bush_dc_2

 

[Annie]

TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgian police tried to arrest on Wednesday a man they suspect of throwing a grenade during a speech by visiting President Bush in May, but he escaped after a gunfight, local media reported.

Police raided a property in the Vashli-Jvari suburb of Tbilisi where the suspect was hiding, Rustavi-2 Television station reported.

One policeman was killed and the suspect was wounded, it reported from the scene.

An operation was under way to find the suspect.

Georgian police on Monday announced a new $83,000 reward for information about the suspect.

U.S. officials said at the time that the grenade only failed to explode because of a malfunction and landed within 30 meters (100 feet) of the president as he spoke to tens of thousands of people in Tbilisi's Freedom Square.

The security scare blighted a trip intended to show Bush's support for the former Soviet state's West-leaning government, which came to power after a democratic revolution 20 months ago.

Officials said the grenade could have caused major injuries in the close-packed crowd, the largest gathering of people on the square since the "Rose Revolution" led by now-President Mikhail Saakashvili.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050720/ts_nm/georgia_bush_dc_2

What is it with police departments overseas? To lose a suspect that was holed up and then killed an officer? No one was covering the rear and sides? No helos?