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2022 Bratislava shooting

Coordinates: 48°08′41.2″N 17°06′04.5″E / 48.144778°N 17.101250°E / 48.144778; 17.101250
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2022 Tepláreň bar shooting
Part of right-wing terrorism in Europe
Zámocká Street (2014)
LocationZámocká Street, Bratislava, Slovakia
Coordinates48°08′41.2″N 17°06′04.5″E / 48.144778°N 17.101250°E / 48.144778; 17.101250
Date12 October 2022
c. 7:00 p.m. (CEST)
Deaths3 (including the perpetrator)
Injured1
PerpetratorJuraj Krajčík
MotiveAnti-LGBT hate crime[1][2]

On 12 October 2022, two people were killed and another person was wounded in a shooting in Bratislava, Slovakia.[3] The shooting took place in front of the Tepláreň café, which is a well-known spot frequented by the Bratislava LGBT community.[4][5]

Soon after the shooting, the police initiated a search for the perpetrator, warning the public to be vigilant as the killer is likely to be armed and dangerous.[6] The next morning a random passer-by notified police of a body without signs of life. The police later identified the dead man as 19-year-old Juraj K. from Bratislava, whom the police suspected to be the sole perpetrator of the killing.[7] After the dead body of the suspect was discovered, the police reassured the public that the immediate danger has passed.[8][4]

Background

The day prior to the shooting, a Twitter account NTMA0315, account tweeted "I have made my decision" and "it will be done" as well as "Race First. Always". A few hours before the attack, it posted a link to a 65-page long "manifesto." In the document, the author does not provide their name, claiming it is not important and "will be known later anyway, but identifies himself as a man of Slovak origin born in July 2003 who has decided to "execute an operation" against the "enemies of the white race".[4] The manifesto blames Jews and homosexuals for causing harm to white people and celebrates mass murderers, including Anders Breivik and the perpetrators of Christchurch mosque shootings and Poway synagogue shooting.[5][4] In particular, the manifesto glorifies a 22-years old Slovak man, known on Telegram as Slovakbro who was arrested by the police in May 2022 for promoting right-wing extremism and calling for the overthrow of the democratic system in Slovakia by means of sabotage and terrorism.

Shooting

The shooting took place shortly after 7 p.m., Residents of Zámocká Street, which connects the historical center of Bratislava with Bratislava Castle, reported hearing between 7 and 9 gunshots. Eyewitnesses saw a man shooting at 2 young people in front of the Tepláreň café, including a 23-year old bartender. A waitress was also wounded, although this is presumed to have been an accident. First responders reported both people targeted by the shooter were found dead, while the waitress was transported to the hospital and was in stable condition. The police closed all surrounding streets and began a search for the killer with the aid of a police helicopter.[9] At 7:48 PM, the police reported the shooting took place on social media and warned the public to stay vigilant as the killer remains at large.[5]

At 7:39 PM, a Twitter account, believed to be associated with the killer, tweeted hashtags #hatecrime #gaybar #bratislava. A minute later, another tweet said "#Bratislava feeling no regrets, isn't it funny?". Both tweets were sent about 10 minutes prior to the shooting becoming public knowledge. As the Slovak Twitter community became aware of the accounts, many users attempted to communicate with the account, asking the user to reveal their location or to turn themselves in. The account did not acknowledge the responses but continued tweeting in Slovak. Shortly after midnight, NTMA0315 tweeted "Tak co silaci dajte nejake posledne slova" ("So what, tough guys, got any last words for me") and "caute vidime sa na druhej strane" ("Later guys, see you on the other side"). By early next morning, the account was blocked.[5]

Investigation

Police did not initially determine a motive for the shooting and asked for patience as they investigated the shooting as a potential hate crime.[10]

Perpetrator

The Twitter account also contained several selfies of the young man, later identified as Juraj K., including one from August in front of Tepláreň and another one in front of the home of the Prime Minister Eduard Heger, whom he also mentioned as a possible target in the manifesto. In addition to Twitter, Juraj K. also used to post his pictures on 4chan.[5] The police suspect the shooter used a gun legally owned by his father, who had previously ran in the 2020 Slovak parliamentary election as a candidate for the extreme-right wing party Fatherland.[4] According to Matej Medvecký, a counter-extremism expert, Juraj subscribed to the ideology of white supremacist Accelerationism, supported by terrorist groups such as Atomwaffen Division.[11]

Reactions

The attack was condemned by several political representatives, including the mayor of Bratislava, Matúš Vallo, and the mayor of Old Town, Bratislava Zuzana Aufrichtová.[12] President Zuzana Čaputová pointed out the likely hateful motive of the act and stated that this hatred towards minorities has been fueled for a long time by the "stupid and irresponsible statements of politicians," whom she called on to stop hateful rhetoric "before it costs more" lives.[13] Prime Minister Eduard Heger condemned the attack and said in a statement that "It is unacceptable that anyone should fear for their life because of the way they live...I strongly condemn yesterday's attack in which two people died. No form of extremism is allowed."[1]

Among foreign state and political representatives, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala expressed his condolences to the survivors of the victims.[14] At the same time, the Czech Minister of the Interior, Vít Rakušan, added that there is no place in a decent society "for unjustified discrimination of LGBT people".[15] President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen expressed her condolences and added that "We have to protect the LGBTIQ community". [16][17]

A weather-themed Discord server, named Storm's Edge, announced on October 13 that the perpetrator had been an active member of the server. Server administrators said that he had been banned the week prior to the shooting for breaking the server's rules regarding discussion of news topics and promoting alt-right beliefs.[18]

References

  1. ^ a b "Slovak PM condemns shooting that killed two outside gay bar". Reuters. 12 October 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  2. ^ "Two People Killed In Homophobic Attack Near Central Bratislava Nightclub". BRNO daily. Czech News Agency. 13 October 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  3. ^ "Slovakia: Two dead after shooting outside LGBT bar". BBC. 13 October 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e Filo, Jakub. "Útočník z Bratislavy je mŕtvy. Pred útokom zverejnil manifest proti Židom a LGBTI ľuďom". domov.sme.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d e Zdút, Matúš; Osvaldová, Lucia (13 October 2022). "Útočníka zo Zámockej našli mŕtveho, k streľbe sa prihlásil na Twitteri, pár hodín predtým zverejnil manifest proti židom a LGBTI". Denník N (in Slovak). Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  6. ^ Debnár, Ján; Petrovič, Ján. "Pri streľbe v centre Bratislavy prišli o život dvaja ľudia". Aktuality.sk (in Slovak).
  7. ^ "Gunman who killed two people in Bratislava found dead". The Slovak Spectator. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  8. ^ "Vražda zo Zámockej: Našli mŕtve telo pravdepodobného páchateľa". Aktuality.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  9. ^ "Streľba v centre Bratislavy si vyžiadala dve obete, páchateľ je mŕtvy". Pravda.sk (in Slovak). 12 October 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  10. ^ Stoklasa, Radovan; Hovet, Jason (2022-10-13). "'Radicalised teenager' killed two outside Slovakia gay bar - PM". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  11. ^ "Aké je ideologické podhubie streleckých útokov". SME (newspaper) (in Slovak). 12 October 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  12. ^ TASR. Vallo a Aufrichtová reagujú na streľbu v Bratislave. teraz.sk (Bratislava: TASR), 2022-10-13. Dostupné online [cit. 2022-10-13].
  13. ^ KYSEĽ, Tomáš; SLIZ, Martin. Prestaňte s tou nenávisťou, odkazuje prezidentka politikom po streľbe v Bratislave. Aktuality.sk (Bratislava: Ringier Axel Springer Slovakia), 2022-10-13. Dostupné online [cit. 2022-10-13].
  14. ^ "Český premiér Petr Fiala vyjadril sústrasť". Denník N (in Slovak). 13 October 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  15. ^ HECL, Adam. Rakušan: Ve slušné společnosti pro homofobii není místo. denikn.cz, 2022-10-13. Dostupné online [cit. 2022-10-13].
  16. ^ "Von der Leyen on Shooting in Bratislava: These Murders Pose Threat for Society". tasr. 13 October 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  17. ^ "Šéfka eurokomisie Ursula von der Leyenová odsúdila útok v Bratislave". Denník N (in Slovak). 13 October 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  18. ^ "Storm's Edge". Discord (Membership required for access). October 13, 2022. Retrieved October 13, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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