A shocking knife attack at a discount store in the Czech Republic has left two women dead, with a 16-year-old boy arrested shortly after the incident. The attack occurred on Thursday at an Action branch on the outskirts of Hradec Kralove, approximately 100 kilometers east of Prague.
According to police, both victims suffered severe injuries that proved fatal despite the efforts of emergency responders. Police spokeswoman Iva Kormosova reported that the teenager assaulted a shop assistant at the counter and another worker in a service area of the store.
The motive behind the attack remains unclear, but authorities have stated there is no indication of a terrorist motive. “The information we have for now seems to suggest he chose the victims randomly,” police noted.
Emergency services received their first call about the attack at 0730 GMT, just half an hour after the shop opened for the day. “When we arrived, we found two people stabbed,” said Anatolij Truhlar, head doctor of the local air rescue service. “Unfortunately, despite 40 minutes of resuscitation efforts, both persons died.”
In the aftermath, police cordoned off the area outside the Action store, where a solitary candle flickered in memory of the victims. Passer-by Adela Ptackova expressed her concerns, stating, “I think you’re not safe anywhere, given what’s going on around us.”
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala extended his condolences to the victims’ families, describing the murders as “an incomprehensible, horrendous act.”
While terror attacks are rare in the Czech Republic, this incident follows a tragic shooting rampage earlier in 2023, where a student killed 14 people and injured 25 at a university in Prague. The country, a member of the EU and NATO with a population of 10.9 million, is now grappling with the shock of this latest violence, amidst reports of similar tragedies in neighboring Austria.
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