According to Slovak media and according to Reuters, the attacker who shot Today, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is a 71-year-old man, writes BTA.
The news site “Dennik Postoi“ reports that the suspect in the attack is 71-year-old Juraj Cintula, a writer and member of the Union of Slovak Writers from the town of Levice. Cintula was a security guard at a shopping center and legally owned the weapon used in the attack. The media claimed that before the incident he was shouting at the approaching prime minister. Immediately after that, the shots rang out. The attacker was detained by the present policemen in the National Criminal Agency (NAC).
The suspect's son gave an interview to Aktuality.sk. He was shocked by his father's actions and said he had no idea he had planned an assassination attempt. When asked what his father's political views were, he replied that he did not vote for the Prime Minister and that was all he knew. The son also denied that his father suffered from mental illness or that he had ever talked about attacking a politician.
In 2016, Cintula was the victim of an attack in a shopping center in Levice, when he was attacked by a young man under the influence of drugs. This incident inspired him to speak openly about violence, so he later published a document on the Internet called "Against Violence". Ironically, however, Cintula now found himself on the opposite side of the law, reports Aktuality.sk.
The suspect from Levice is actively involved in art, publishing several collections of poems. He was also a member of the Union of Slovak Writers. Some of his literary works reveal contradictory views about the Roma.
A witness revealed to the agency that he heard three shots when Fico was leaving a building in the town of Handlova to shake hands with the people who had gathered to congratulate him in large numbers.
Television TA-3 reports that four shots hit the stomach of the Slovak prime minister.
Reuters claims that the motives of the attacker have not yet been clarified, while TASS quotes the TA-3 television, according to which the motives for the attempt were political. “I do not agree with the government policy,” said the perpetrator Tsintula, whose words were broadcast by television.
Reuters recalls that Slovakia, a member of the European Union and NATO, has had few cases of political violence in its history. Vera Hornjakova, a journalist from RTVS TV, said that the attempt to assassinate Prime Minister Fico was a terrifying moment in the history of Slovakia.