Prosecutors rule out murder in north Bohemian shooting
Prosecutors investigating a New Year’s Day shooting in the north Bohemian
town of Tanvald, which left a Romany man dead and injured another, have
ruled out murder or any other premeditated crime. The investigators on
Friday said the 63-year-old shooter was facing an intense assault by two
Romany men in a conflict that had no racial or material motives.
The highly-publicized incident occurred in the first hours of the New Year
in a remote location near the north Bohemian town of Tanvald when a
63-year-old man shot a 22-year old Romany man dead and injured his 24-year
old brother.
The authorities have not yet disclosed all the details about what exactly
took place. But on Friday, prosecutors said the shooter will not be charged
with murder. Lenka Bradáčová is a deputy of the regional state
prosecutor.
“We have acquired evidence including testimonies, a reconstruction at
the scene of the shooting as well as expertises. At the current stage of
the investigation, we can rule out murder or any other intentional criminal
act leading to the death of the victim.”
Investigators this week carried out a reconstruction of the incident which
they say threw more light on what occurred: the 63-year-old man had been
attacked by the two Romanies who were armed with a knife. The injured man,
who remains in hospital, claimed they did not assault the shooter, and said
the shots came out unexpectedly. But prosecutor Lenka Bradáčová says the
evidence points to a different conclusion.
“We have also ruled out a racial motive as well as robbery. For the time
being, we will not disclose any further details, but I can say that the
motive was very insignificant; the incident was sparked by a petty
squabble.”
The investigators will now determine whether the shooting was a case of
adequate self-defence, which will take several months.
“It is a question of evaluating all the evidence that we have. It is
always a complicated issue as you cannot really consider the assault and
the defence to be equal. The law says that self-defence cannot be clearly
disproportionate to the attack which is for legal experts to determine. I
expect that within two or three months, we will have a conclusion after the
experts evaluate all the evidence.”
The shooting incident further increased ethnic tensions in the poor north
Bohemian region which last year saw a number of violent incidents between
Romanies and ethnic Czechs. The 22-year-old man’s funeral on Saturday
took place under tightened security measures and was attended by hundreds
of people. Police have also increased their presence in the area to prevent
further conflicts.
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The highly-publicized incident occurred in the first hours of the New Year
in a remote location near the north Bohemian town of Tanvald when a
63-year-old man shot a 22-year old Romany man dead and injured his 24-year
old brother.
Investigators this week carried out a reconstruction of the incident which
they say threw more light on what occurred: the 63-year-old man had been
attacked by the two Romanies who were armed with a knife. The injured man,
who remains in hospital, claimed they did not assault the shooter, and said
the shots came out unexpectedly. But prosecutor Lenka Bradáčová says the
evidence points to a different conclusion.
The shooting incident further increased ethnic tensions in the poor north
Bohemian region which last year saw a number of violent incidents between
Romanies and ethnic Czechs. The 22-year-old man’s funeral on Saturday
took place under tightened security measures and was attended by hundreds
of people. Police have also increased their presence in the area to prevent
further conflicts.
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