Poprad
Kindergarten robbers behind bars
POLICE arrested two men who in early July robbed a kindergarten and took almost everything they found, including 12 boxes of toothpaste, 41 rolls of toilet paper and 17 family packs of paper tissues.
The men, 25-year-old Jaroslav Ž. and 35-year-old Milan M. from Poprad, broke into the kindergarten using an iron bar to crack open a window.
Apart from the hygiene items the men also took a radio, video recorder, vacuum cleaner, CDs and videotapes of children's entertainment.
Žilina
Homeless man threatens suicide
A HOMELESS man was coaxed down from a threatened suicide.photo: TASR
A HOMELESS man, Milan H., threatened to commit suicide on August 25 by climbing a high-voltage electricity tower and shouting to onlookers that he would electrocute himself unless they gave him Sk5 million ($110,000) and a car.
Thanks to the speedy action of Žilina's energy authorities, the power current carried by the tower was turned off before Milan H. managed to touch the wires. Having failed to kill himself he then sat down and reduced his demands, asking only for a pack of cigarettes.
A firefighter was forced to climb the tower and hand over the smokes to Milan H., who had threatened to jump if his demand wasn't met.
Those who knew Milan H., 31, said he was an unfortunate man with a difficult life who had never before made problems. They said he had once before threatened to commit suicide by jumping from a housing complex. A friend had at the time managed to persuade him not to take his life.
Čadca
Pensioner takes up tagging
WHILE Slovakia's railway security officers say it is mainly young vandals who destroy the interiors and exteriors of the nation's trains with sprayed slogans, in the latest incident of 'tagging' a 70-year-old man was caught spraying the name of his favourite political party on a train carriage.
Railway security spokesman Jozef Búranský said that on August 25 a witness had seen the retired man writing the name of one of the country's Christian parties on a carriage in the northern Slovak town of Čadca.
The man refused to admit to the act, but the witness insisted the man had written the name of the party = using a thick blue felt tipped pen.
The pensioner will now likely have to cover the costs of erasing the inscription.
Šuňava
Interior Minister caught speeding to election rally
IVAN Šimko, Slovak Interior Minister and deputy-chair of the ruling Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ), was caught speeding on his way to an election rally in the village of Šuňava near Poprad.
After police radar caught Šimko's car travelling at 16 kilometres per hour over the speed limit, an on-duty officer stopped the minister.
The policeman later said it had taken him "some time" to realise he was talking to his highest superior, whereupon he had decided not to issue a fine but to solve the matter by delivering a brief lecture to the Interior Minister on the speed limits on Slovak roads.
Tupá
Brutal killer on the loose, police continue intense search
AROUND 100 police officers continued to search for a brutal murderer who shot three people dead and wounded a two-month-old baby last weekend.
The alleged shooter was identified by witnesses as 61-year-old Štefan G. from the southern Slovak village of Tupá near Levice. The man's neighbours said they had no idea why he had attacked his victims, who were all Roma, on the evening of August 25, and then fled the village on a small motorbike.
"At around half past seven in the evening he ran into the courtyard and started shooting with a machine gun," said Viera Szomsiová, a relative of the murdered people.
Dead are 29-year-old Marko, his 21-year-old common-law wife Júlia and their 1-year-old son Marián. Another woman and her 2-month-old baby were injured, although their wounds are not considered life-threatening.
"That baby was just a few months old, and he shot it in the head while the baby was in a pram. A normal person just couldn't do such a thing," said Szomsiová.
Locals say that the suspect produced alcohol illegally, although he never visited local pubs and took no part in village life. Police also found an arsenal of shotguns and bullets in Štefan G.'s house.
Village residents say they are terrified and fear leaving their homes. Local police have alerted colleagues in neighboring districts and border officers in their search for Štefan G., which continues with over 100 officers, tracking dogs and helicopters in one of the largest manhunts in Slovak history.
Čaka
Four Roma attack group of 20 youths
FOUR young aggressive men attacked a group of 20 people after closing time in a bar in this central Slovak village.
The mayor of Čaka, Ľudovít Viglaš, said the attackers were Roma, and that this had not been the first incident in which members of the ethnic minority attacked majority Slovaks in his district.
In the incident, which took place after 22:00 on August 28, one of the larger group suffered a broken nose and lost several teeth.
