The suspect arrested in connection with the shooting of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico comes from the town of Levice.
Bratislava:
The suspect detained in connection with the shooting death of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is a 71-year-old writer from the center of the European nation, the interior minister announced on Wednesday, after the man was identified by the media.
“I think yes, I can confirm it,” Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok told reporters when asked about reports identifying the man detained at the scene of the shooting in the town of Handlova.
The gray-haired suspect was seen handcuffed on the ground shortly after shooting Fico several times following a government meeting in Handlova. Authorities said late Wednesday that populist Prime Minister Fico was fighting for his life.
The media report that the suspect was the founder of the DUHA (Rainbow) Literary Club and came from the town of Levice.
The reports, which also included his name, stated that he was the author of three volumes of poetry and a member of the official Association of Slovak Writers.
The association confirmed on Facebook that the man had been a member since 2015, adding that if his identity as the shooting suspect was confirmed, “this despicable individual’s membership will be canceled immediately.”
The suspect’s son told the Slovak websiteaktuality.sk that he “has absolutely no idea what the father is thinking, what he is planning and why this happened.”
He said his father was a legally registered gun owner.
When asked if he hated Fico, his son replied: “I’ll tell you this: he didn’t vote for him. That’s all I can say about it.”
Vlasta Kollarova, director of the local library in the man’s hometown, told Dennik N.: “In his youth he was rebellious, but not aggressive.”
Several political statements by a man whose name AFP preferred not to be published on social media can be found.
“The world is full of violence and weapons. People seem to have gone crazy,” he said in a video posted online eight years ago.
In the video, he also spoke about concerns about immigration and “hatred and extremism” and said European governments “have no alternative to this chaos.”
He also said in the recording that he founded the “Movement Against Violence” in Levice.
The movement, which also has its own Facebook page, describes itself as “an emerging political party committed to preventing the spread of violence in society. Preventing war in Europe and spreading hatred.
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