Slovakia teacher attack: police investigate possible error

Slovak police inspectors have opened a criminal case over alleged abuse of power, examining whether officers in Turzovka made a mistake when they handled a complaint filed by two teachers against a 13-year-old schoolboy from the town of Staškov — before the boy fatally attacked the teachers and a classmate.

A doctored concentration camp photo and a police complaint

According to available information, the schoolboy circulated a doctored photograph from a concentration camp, inserting portraits of two teachers into it. A classmate, Nela, pointed the picture out to the teachers, after which they filed a complaint with the police. The station in Turzovka registered it on Thursday and classified it as a minor offense: according to police chief Jana Maškarová, the complaint did not mention any threat to life or health — only behavior that one of the teachers considered rude.

Who died in the attack

During the attack by the 13-year-old, a 61-year-old teacher — a former school director who was trying to protect Nela — was killed. The girl herself later died of severe injuries in a hospital in Martin. The second injured teacher is no longer in life-threatening condition.

What the police inspectorate is examining

Inspectors arrived in Staškov a few hours after the attack and are now examining whether local police made a mistake in handling the teachers' earlier complaint. Inspectorate spokeswoman Andrea Dobiašová said that, because pre-trial proceedings are confidential, she could not disclose details: “The investigation is actively ongoing, and no one has yet been specifically charged.”

On Monday afternoon, police president Jana Maškarová commented on the situation. She said that in such high-risk incidents she always orders a review, and this time she instructed the inspection department to examine the officers' actions. Conclusions about whether police made a mistake can only be drawn once the review is complete: “It would be extremely irresponsible of me to comment on that now,” Maškarová added.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz