Police do not believe that the shooting in Hurbanovo on Saturday, June 16 that resulted in the death of three men from one Roma family and injuries to two other relatives was racially motivated, explaining that if it had been racially motivated the man would have killed more people, the daily wrote on June 18.
An off-duty 51-year-old municipal police officer, Milan J., from the village of Svätý Peter drove his passenger car to the front of a house at 5 Komárňanska Street in Hurbanovo occupied by a Roma family. Milan J. left his car and started shooting with a gun that was not licensed to him, the TASR newswire wrote.
He shot dead a 44-year old man, his 19-year old son and 24-year old son-in-law. The fourth victim was the second son of the man, shot in the chest, and the fifth victim was the son’s wife, who was wounded in the leg; both are in hospital and the man’s condition is reported as serious. The police officer was not on duty at the time of the shooting, TASR wrote.
After he was detained, the police informed that the police officer was not under the influence of alcohol or other drugs and the police stated that during the initial hearing Milan J. had some memory loss, Sme wrote.
The governmental proxy for Roma communities, Miroslav Pollák, said the shooting is “inexcusable and incomprehensible”. He plans to meet with police and ask them to responsibly investigate the case and pass measures that could prevent similar tragedies in the future, TASR wrote on June 18.
He also asked the media to inform sensitively about the tragedy since biased and incorrect reports will only worsen the situation between Roma and non-Roma residents of the area.
“The majority of reactions and attitudes of the majority inhabitants over the tragedy in Hurbanovo showed that Roma are viewed negatively and the postponement of the solution of problems of Roma communities can bring another worsening of the relations and escalation in the relations between residents of Roma communities and the majority society,” Pollák said, as quoted by TASR.
The spokesperson for the hospital in Komárno, Marta Csregeová, informed the SITA newswire that the health condition of the Roma man was critical but stabilised.
For more information about this story please see: Three dead and two wounded after police shooting in Hurbanovo
Source: Sme, TASR, SITA
Compiled by Radka Minarechová from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
