Horror while shopping

Knife murderer (16) probably stabbed at random

Police investigating at the scene of the crime

(Bild: APA/AFP/AFPTV/Jan FLEMR)

On Thursday morning, a 16-year-old killed two women with a knife in a Czech shopping center (we reported). As it turned out, the teenager probably had no personal relationship with the victims - rather, they may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The clock showed 08:30 when the horror struck a shopping mall in the Czech town of Hradec Kralove (Königgrätz). The scene of the crime was the store of an action chain in Akademika Bedrny street. According to the police, the perpetrator, who was not even of legal age, was armed with a knife with a 20-centimeter blade, which he rammed into a woman in the store and another in the backyard.

Both were sales clerks, aged only 19 and 38. Despite the best efforts of the emergency services, who resuscitated the two women for 40 minutes, there was no help for them, Czech media report on the horrific scenes.

Mystery surrounding the motive for the crime continues
The perpetrator is said to be a Czech citizen. Criminologists assume that the 16-year-old chose his victims at random and had no personal relationship with them. His motive for the crime is not yet entirely clear. "The information currently available to us suggests that the victims were chosen at random and that it was the act of a single person," said police spokeswoman Iva Kormošová.

So far, there are no indications that it was a terrorist attack. The investigation is continuing and the National Center for Combating Terrorism and Extremism is also involved.