I did not plan to kill the PM. I acted alone, says man who shot at Fico.

He got in his car on Wednesday, May 15, and drove for about an hour to Handlová, a former mining town, where the government was holding a meeting, and waited for Prime Minister Robert Fico to walk out.

In his fanny pack, 71-year-old Juraj C. carried a Czech-made gun with two magazines, each one holding about 10 cartridges. He had bought it in 1992. The pensioner also had a gift for the prime minister - his book called “The Victim’s Message”, containing a short dedication for the premier.

When Fico finally arrived at the barrier where people were waiting for him shortly after 14:30, Juraj C. fired at least four shots at the prime minister, his torso and abdominal cavity, without any warning.

Initial reports suggested that Juraj C. had shouted at the prime minister to come closer to him. The prosecutor is also convinced that Juraj C. addressed Fico at first.

“Maybe the distance between us was not even two metres, even a blind person could have hit him,” the attacker told the police, as quoted in last week’s decision to take Juraj C. into custody.

All the major dailies obtained the court’s decision, written by Judge Roman Púchovský of the Specialised Criminal Court, and published stories based on it on Thursday.

According to the decision, Juraj C. decided to take revenge on the government for its policies around May 13, 2024, “by harming the prime minister’s health”. On that day, he heard on the radio that the government meeting would take place in Handlová in two days and decided to act.

Attacker: Prime minister was the sole target