‘Radicalised teenager’ kills two in shooting outside Slovakia gay bar

A shooting at a gay bar in Slovakia’s capital, Bratislava, has left two dead.

Information on a motive has not been released but local media reports say the gunman wrote anti-LGBT and antisemitic social media posts 

 

A “radicalised teenager” shot and killed two men at a gay bar in Slovakia’s capital, Bratislava, Prime Minister Eduard Heger said on Thursday (October 13).

 

The shooting took place on Wednesday outside the Teplaren Bar, a city centre venue popular with LGBTQ+ locals. The attack happened at 7pm local time and immediately sparked a police manhunt.

Police later confirmed they found the gunman dead at another location one day later, on Thursday morning.

 

“Two people were murdered just because they were part of the LGBTQI community,“ Prime Minister Eduard Heger said at a press conference.

“This is unacceptable,“ he added: “In a free and democratic country, homosexuals have a right to live freely.”

 

 

On Twitter, Heger later described the shooter as a “radicalised teenager”.

 

Local media later identified the shooter as 19-year-old Juraj Krajcik, the son of a prominent member of the far-right Vlast party.

The party had reportedly failed to get enough votes to enter parliament during the 2020 general election.

Shooting in Slovakia’s capital, Bratislava.
Shooting in Slovakia’s capital, Bratislava. Image: REUTERS

 

Witnesses told reporters they had heard up to 10 shots fired and reports suggest one of the victims was a Chinese language student who worked part-time at Teplaren.

 

 

Police said the shooters body was found in a park, in a different part of the city, at around 8am on Thursday.

 

While police have yet to confirm a motive behind the shooting, Slovak media reports the shooter had posted messages with the phrases “hate crime” and “gay bar” hashtagged on Twitter.

READ:  Brianna Ghey: Two arrested after fatal stabbing of 'strong and fearless' trans teen in local park

Further reports say he had posted an anti-LGBT and antisemitic ‘manifesto’ and left messages on a Twitter account saying he did not regret his actions.

 

Police asked for patience as investigate before confirming the attack as a hate crime. More below:

 

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