Prague: The shooting incident at a restaurant in Czech town of Uhersky Brod is not a terrorist attack but an insane act by a "crazed individual" in his 60s, Interior Minister Milan Chovanec said.
The small and usually peaceful town of Uhersky Brod in the Czech Republic was shaken yesterday after a gunman barged in 'Druzba restaurant' and started firing indiscriminately at people, before shooting himself dead, according to mayor Patrik Kuncar.
Eight people were killed and a waitress who was injured by a gunshot in her chest, remains critical.
According to Czech media reports, the gunman had himself called a local TV station which then informed the police.
Given the recent attacks like on Charlie Hebdo office in Paris and Sydney cafe siege, there were fears of a terror angle.
However, Interior Minister Milan Chovanec has ruled out any such thing saying, “it was not a terrorist attack”, but the act of a "crazed individual".
The shooter had a gun license and was armed with two pistols and opened fire at the approaching police officers, Chovanec said.
The shooter is said to be a sexagenarian and a local citizen who might be suffering from some mental health issues.
"I'm rattled by this event. I never would have imagined something like this happening here, in a restaurant that I know well,” the mayor told a local news channel, reported the Telegraph.
"I am shocked by the tragic attack in Uhersky Brod," Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said in a statement while on a trip to South Korea. He offered his condolences to the victims' relatives.
