Uherský Brod shooting
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Location of Zlín Region in Czech Republic
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Location of Czech Republic in Europe
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| Location | Družba restaurant, Uherský Brod, Zlín Region, Czech Republic |
| Date | 24 February 2015 c. 12:30 p.m. – 14:23 p.m. |
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Attack type
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Mass shooting, murder–suicide |
| Weapons |
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| Deaths | 9 (including the perpetrator) |
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Non-fatal injuries
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1 |
| Perpetrator | Zdeněk Kovář |
On 24 February 2015, a mass shooting occurred at the Družba restaurant in the town of Uherský Brod, Czech Republic. Nine people were killed, including the gunman, 63-year-old Zdeněk Kovář, who committed suicide after a standoff with police that lasted nearly two hours. In addition, one other person was injured.Uherský Brod is 260 kilometers (160 miles) east-southeast of the Czech capital Prague.
The shooting was one of the two deadliest mass murders in the country's peacetime history, alongside a 1973 vehicular rampage committed by Olga Hepnarová. The circumstances of the shooting led to an examination on the gun politics in the Czech Republic and police rules of engagement against active shooters. Czech media speculated that the rampage may have been triggered by an apparent attempt of the authorities to review Kovář's mental state.
Due to similarities between the perpetrators, the murders were compared by Czech media and experts to a mass murder that took place two years before in Frenštát pod Radhoštěm, another Moravian town lying 90 km northwards. In the attack, a 57-year-old man, Antonín Blažek, attempted to blow up a block of flats after having been ordered to vacate his flat that had been foreclosed by creditors. He first blocked both exits from the building, and then removed and opened the main gas supply into the building's corridor. Interrupted, Blažek set the gas on fire before the gas could spread throughout the whole building. The explosion and subsequent fire, however, were large enough to demolish part of the building, killing Blažek and five other people immediately and wounding eleven others, one of whom died on 17 February 2015.
Before the murders, Kovář's family became worried about his mental state to the point that they contacted authorities in connection with his possession of gun license. Just four days before the murders, Kovář had received a police request to present a new health clearance under the threat of revoking his license. Before entering the Družba restaurant, Kovář visited at least two other venues. Those, however, had fewer customers, and Kovář left them immediately after entering.
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Wikipedia