Uherský Brod rampage

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On February 24, 2015, 63-year-old Zdeněk Kovář shot dead eight people and himself in the Uhersky Brod rampage .

Sequence of events

The shooter broke into the Družba restaurant in the Czech town of Uherský Brod around 12:30 p.m. and immediately fired around with two weapons (a Brno M 75 and an Alfa 820 revolver). At the time of the attack, around 20 people are said to have been in the restaurant - the shooter had previously rejected two other restaurants, presumably they were not well enough staffed. Kovář fired up to 25 shots and killed a 43-year-old woman and seven men between the ages of 27 and 66. He then contacted a television station, claimed to have hostages under his control and shot at police officers who were waiting for the special unit to arrive. When it arrived around 2:00 p.m., he shot himself.

classification

It was one of the two most serious cases of mass murder in the Czech Republic in the post-war period, together with the case of Olga Hepnarová on July 10, 1973. The perpetrator's motives are still unclear; it is believed that the perpetrator was mentally confused at the time of the crime.

The act sparked a debate about a possible tightening of Czech gun law. While some politicians said the existing regulations were sufficient, others called for more frequent psychological tests for gun owners. At the moment, 5- to 10-year intervals between psychological reports are mandatory and failure to pass this leads to the withdrawal of the gun license. However, the police have the right to insist on shorter periods in individual cases. The perpetrator from Uherský Brod is said to have previously been suspicious of his family and living quarters, which is why the police asked him the week before the crime to produce new health documents for his weapon license, which was renewed in January 2015.

Individual evidence

  1. a b Uhersky Brod: Commemoration of the dead after a rampage in the Czech Republic
  2. Czech Republic: 8 killed plus shooter in restaurant shooting in Uhersky Brod
  3. ^ IDNES.cz: The restaurant shooter used his legal weapons, as the police discovered. (Article in Czech)
  4. Police statement. (Article in Czech)
  5. Press article with comparative figures (article in Czech.)
  6. Answers from Czech politicians on the consequences of the rampage. (Article in Czech.)
  7. Lidovky.cz: Sagittarius terrorized neighborhood. Wife in psychiatric treatment. (Article in Czech.)
  8. aktuellne.cz: Police sent shooters to the psychiatrist. The murder four days later. (Article in Czech.)