Czech police reveal more details about Tuesday's shooting attack

Czech regional police spokesman Pavel Benedikt Stransky Wednesday disclosed additional details of the shooting attack in the small town Uhersky Brod, wherein a 63-year-old man shot and killed eight people in a restaurant on Tuesday before turning the gun on himself.

Shortly after noon on Tuesday, local police received calls that a man had entered the Druzba restaurant in the small southeastern Czech town and opened fire on the restaurant patrons and staff. A police patrol arrived at the site in ten minutes, but had to take cover as the man opened fire at them. An injured woman managed to escape during the shoot-out.

The attacker called Czech commercial TV station Prima and said he had "a gun and hostages and will make his own decision." Police said that the attacker made the call after killing the people in the restaurant.

According to Stransky, a police negotiator talked with the attacker on the phone and was trying to found out exactly what was happening, but the squad did not fire as the attacker shot himself dead upon seeing he was surrounded by armed police.

The attacker was a local man who had no criminal record, had been out of work for years, and seemed to be under strong psychological pressure. He also allegedly had problems with his neighbours. He legally owned two guns, a revolver Alfa and a pistol CZ 75B, which were found by the police in the restaurant; both were made in the Czech Republic.

The eight Czech victims of the shooting attack were seven men aged 27 to 66 and a 43-year-old woman. Another 37-year-old woman was seriously injured, but woke up from an induced coma on Wednesday and is now in stable condition. One man escaped uninjured as he hid in the toilet.

The police made a visit to the shooter's house late Tuesday night but had to force entry as his wife refused to let them in. A doctor entered the house together with the police, and decided to send the wife to the hospital. The wife is allegedly suffering from schizophrenia. The investigators did not say whether the attacker had psychological problems.

Stransky said the investigation was likely to last several weeks at least. The examination of the crime scene ended in the early morning of Wednesday, but the police continue to guard the building. Endit