L'ubomír Harman

Case record: Ľubomír Harman

Background

Ľubomír Harman (31 March 1962 – 30 August 2010) was a Slovak spree killer.

He attended a forestry high school in Liptovský Hrádok. According to former schoolmate Pavol Časnocha, who took karate lessons with Harman at the time, Harman was "a little quiet, I don't want to say withdrawn, maybe a loner". Another former classmate, Peter Žihľavník, remembered Harman as being an average student without any notable abilities. Žihľavník said: "(Harman) was not withdrawn and didn't have any kind of phobia, he was a normal boy". They also played football together.

Harman went through compulsory military service in the early 1980s. He was never a professional soldier and he had no criminal record.

Harman spent a lot of his time in nature. After finishing high school and military service, he was employed in Wood Industry Bratislava as an "energetician in the technical division" and stayed there for four years. An unnamed long-time friend said people liked him there and that he would sometimes go drink some beers with his colleagues. Harman used to be a hunter, and this was said by some to be how his relationship with firearms began.

During the 1990s, Harman worked for four different companies. In each, he was remembered as always fulfilling his duties the way it was expected. In one company where he was employed as a boilerman, a female colleague remembered that people used to call him "silent face". She recalled: "He worked and worked and worked, he listened, but did not talk". She also described him as always frowning but never slacking, helping everyone anytime, including being described as an "ideal employee". He worked mainly in maintenance in different heater rooms around Bratislava.

Harman quit his last job suddenly two years before the murders, and was unemployed since August 1, 2008. Since 2008, he had been receiving €118 welfare a month. The account said this later affected his presence at competitions and in practice due to lack of money. In 2010 before the murders, he entered only one shooting competition.

Relationships

Harman never married and lived a solitary life. An unnamed long-time friend said Harman was lately more withdrawn than ever in his life before. The friend said Harman was keen on his parents, brother and sister, and that all of them were still alive at the time of the murders.

According to a friend from the shooting club, Daniel Líška, Harman neither showed any aggressive nor hostile behaviour. The account said he had never mentioned any conflicts with his neighbours. He did not communicate with his neighbours, and neighbours could not recall having any conflicts with him either. According to neighbours, he was hard to notice and he never greeted anyone.

An ex-colleague who appeared anonymously on camera in TV Markíza on September 2, 2010 described Harman as a "good soul" and said he got exploited easily.

The Slovak police corps president said that Harman was in no relationship with his victims.

The offence

On August 30, 2010, Ľubomír Harman became the first Slovak gun-wielding spree killer when he opened fire in Devínska Nová Ves district, a suburb of the Slovak capital Bratislava. He killed 7 people and injured 17 more before committing suicide the same day.

The shooting spree occurred both inside a local panel building and later in the street outside. The 2010 Bratislava shooting, or Devínska Nová Ves shooting, happened on 30 August 2010 when eight people (including the perpetrator) died and at least 17 were injured after a lone gunman opened fire in Devínska Nová Ves district. The shooting was described as the second-deadliest attack in the modern history of Slovakia. It was also described as the first time in Slovak history that a mass murderer went on a shooting spree.

Over 9000 bullets were found in Harman’s apartment after the massacre.

The account said the shooting remained controversial due to the killer’s motive being unknown and also due to information withholding by authorities and what was perceived as a failed police action.

Background to the attack area

Devínska Nová Ves was described as rather isolated, on the outskirts of Bratislava, with some 23.000 inhabitants and another 10.000 people commuting to work there, mainly because of the Volkswagen factory, usually bypassing the district proper.

At the time of the attack, most people at home in the apartment building were said to be elderly. On the streets, it was said not to be as busy as during the morning rush, though people waited for a bus and parents took walks with small children.

The attack started in a panel building that houses a kindergarten on the ground floor; during the summer holiday it was empty.

The account stated there were over 20 policemen serving in the district. It described efforts to explain the attack by reference to tension after mass construction of apartment houses and a large inflow of inhabitants during communism, and stated that no proof had been produced in this case.

Timeline

• August 30, 2010 (9:40 a.m.) — Harman started shooting on the third floor at Pavla Horova Street No. 1 inside apartment No. 8 in Devínska Nová Ves, Bratislava, wearing a pair of blue earmuffs.
• August 30, 2010 (9:45 a.m.) — The first emergency phone call was made.
• August 30, 2010 (9:47 a.m.) — The first police car arrived about two minutes after receiving information; the second police car arrived after another two minutes.
• August 30, 2010 (10:10 a.m.) — The awaited specialized unit ("kukláči" in Slovak) arrived.
• August 30, 2010 (10:16 a.m.) — The unit cornered and fatally wounded the attacker; Harman committed suicide with a single gunshot in the head at 10:16 a.m.

Attack details

Harman started shooting on the third floor at Pavla Horova Street No. 1 inside apartment No. 8 in Devínska Nová Ves, Bratislava. He was equipped with a Vz. 58 assault rifle, a CZ 85 combat pistol, and a CZ 52 pistol, with many rounds of ammunition inside a leather-colored bag hung over his shoulder. The attack started probably around 9:40 a.m.

The perpetrator first entered a flat on the same floor as his, described as his neighbours. After killing all five people in the flat, Harman headed towards the exit from the building where he killed another man from the same family.

Just outside the building, the retired Vincent Fratrič (79) was waiting by the entrance for workers changing windows. He was approached by Jozef Pútik (49), and they talked for a while. Pútik was unable to get buzzed into the apartment where the slaughter happened. Pútik managed to get inside, however, and some 5–7 minutes later he came running back and collapsed outside of the building.

Wounded Pútik grabbed Fratrič by the waist and screamed for help, while the shooter leaned his gun against Fratrič's shoulder as he continued to shoot Pútik once into the head from point blank range. Fratrič recalled: "we were looking into each other's eyes".

The shooter then changed the ammunition in his assault rifle and opened fire on other people on the street. He also hit several cars driving nearby. He began walking and firing into windows and in the direction of the kindergarten and local shopping centre. The account said he seemed to shoot randomly and injured several people at a considerable distance.

Gabriela Košťálová (52) was shot on a balcony and died within minutes. At one time, Harman was shooting from the vicinity of a newsstand. An eyewitness, Dominik Kapišinský (19), said that the lady inside the stand even came out at one point to throw out the garbage while the shooting was in progress and returned to sit inside again.

An unnamed female eyewitness, cited by magazine Plus 7 Dní, said: "one man stepped outside of his car and walked towards the shooter asking him why he was shooting".

Two minutes after the first police car arrived (at about 9:47 a.m.), and after a second police car arrived two minutes later, captain Karol Vrchovský (35) suffered a non-fatal head wound. The account said Vrchovský approached the shooter at a distance of 60 meters, then took cover behind a panel space at the base of a panel building, where he was hit probably by a deflected bullet that entered through his upper lip and exited near his right ear.

The police decided to encircle Harman and wait for a tactical unit to arrive. With the arrival of the police, the shooter shifted his focus mainly targeting police officers. The account described that Czech media routinely reported that at that time some local inhabitants handed out their bulletproof vests to engaging police officers.

The specialized unit arrived from Malacky 25 minutes since the incident was reported, at 10:10 a.m. At 10:16 a.m., they cornered Harman and fatally wounded him. He committed suicide by a single gunshot in the head at 10:16 a.m.

The account stated fifteen people were taken to five different hospitals in Bratislava, and two persons were being treated on the spot.

During the attack, Harman was seen repeatedly touching the barrel of his assault rifle and checking if it was not overheated. The account said this was verifiable from amateur footage made by eyewitnesses.

The account said many former policemen, soldiers and border-guards lived in the Devínska Nová Ves District. During the shooting, Harman noticed a man in a window and shot in his direction, hitting his hand. The wounded man, a former professional sniper, aimed at Harman but later decided not to intervene and only watched the police action with binoculars.

During the shooting, the local authority instructed people through local radio to avoid standing near windows and to leave the Ján Smrek, Pavol Horov and Štefan Králik streets. Mayor of Devínska Nová Ves Vladimír Mráz said: "We have verified the information from the police, so we are warning people".

Soon after the attack, the police sealed shut the whole district of Devínska Nová Ves, not letting anyone inside and checking every car leaving the district. According to eyewitnesses, after arriving at the exits, police were talking for a few minutes, letting people out before starting searches. Public transport was redirected around the district for an unspecified amount of time.

Perpetrator information

The shooter was 48 years old Ľubomír Harman, living on the same (third) floor of the same building at Pavla Horova street as most of his victims. The account said he had been living in the one-room flat for over 20 years, seldom or never visited by anyone. He legally owned six guns, including a sport version of the Vz. 58 assault rifle. The assault rifle could only have been held legally for sport purposes, adjusted to be a semi-automatic, rather than fully automatic.

Police corps president said Harman was in no relationship with his victims.

The account stated that 16 bullets were fired at Harman by police, with the sixteenth bullet wounding him fatally. It said the final shot came from a special ops member, while three other policemen tried to shoot Harman unsuccessfully before.

According to autopsy results, Harman was fatally hit into the left side of the chest and afterwards he shot himself with his assault rifle.

Early first reports from the place informed that the shooter was an intoxicated boy, approximately 15 years old. Later that day, a single picture taken from one of the balconies above the street by witness Matej became available to the media. The account described the iconic picture as Harman standing on the street holding his assault rilfe and looking up at the balconies.

Victims

The police found five dead in the flat. They were all members of the Putík family.

Although initial reports claimed the family was of Roma ethnicity, the account stated it was not. It said some of the partners of the female victims were Roma, and one of them was also a victim, while the family itself was white.

The last victim, Ms. Košťálová, was later found by her relatives on the balcony of a different apartment. She was a 52-year-old woman not related to the other victims. She was shot while looking down from her balcony.

The account described that five years prior to the shooting, Slovak television station Markíza made a reportage about the family of the victims. The reportage was instigated by the neighbours of the family. It said all other inhabitants of the block of flats signed a letter inviting the reporters. At the time of the reportage, only two of the victims were living in the flat while the others moved in later.

The account provided a quote from the reporter at the start: "in a block of flats, where tens of families live near each other, one bad neighbour may be a real catastrophy". It also said the reporter claimed that the inhabitants faced death threats from the family and that therefore nobody was willing to talk directly to the camera.

Later, the account said, it was revealed that the family had not paid rent and therefore faced eviction, but that because of Slovak laws favouring tenants, the process could take very long. The family denied all allegations. The account said the report stated police were called a number of times to solve the situation, but that no progress was made.

Targeted killings (1–6)

1. Jozefa Slezáková (born 1934), killed at the apartment; retired; owner of the one-room flat.
2. Mária Slezáková (born 1966), killed at the apartment; daughter of Jozefa Slezáková.
3. Ružena Halászová (born 1959), killed at the apartment but did not live there; daughter of Jozefa Slezáková; described by neighbours as problematic. The account said she returned from The United Kingdom several months before the attack and started visiting her mother.
4. Jozef Slezák (born 1998), killed at the apartment; son of Mária Slezáková; the account said he was first misidentified as a girl because of his very long hair.
5. Stanislav Slezák (born 1983), killed at the apartment; grandson of Jozefa Slezáková; the account said his mother did not take part in the massacre.
6. Jozef Pútik a.k.a. Vinco (born 1961), killed right in front of the building; partner of Mária Slezáková and father of Jozef Slezák. The account said he was of Roma ethnicity. It stated that, in an interview with his brother a few hours after the massacre, he often visited the apartment to look after his son Jozef.

Random killings (7)

7. Gabriela Košťálová (born 1958), shot when looking down from her balcony; the account said she died inside her apartment at Jána Smreka street and was found in the late afternoon by her partner.

Injuries and hospitalised people

The account stated that of the 15 people taken to hospitals, 8 required longer hospitalization, with 3 people being in serious condition.

The spokeswoman for Bratislava's University Hospital, Rút Geržová, said: "two, including a 33-year-old Czech man, (are) in very serious condition." The account said the Czech patient had to be put into a coma. It also said Andrej (19) was in critical condition; he was shot into the chest and collar bone. He had to be resuscitated twice and doctors had to take part in his lung.

Police officer Karol Vrchovský (35) suffered a non-lethal minor face injury.

Nadežda (70) was shot into her leg on the street when returning home from buying groceries, and she waited for paramedics in the local pharmacy.

Veronika (age unknown) was shot into her right shoulder and forearm.

The account described a 3-year-old child suffering a minor ear injury when hit inside a car passing by the crime scene, and that after the attack its father was unsure if it was a hit or just a cut from broken glass.

Vincent Fratrič (79) had to be hospitalised because of temporarily going deaf from having a rifle fired by his ear.

The account stated that among the injured was also the son of a known Slovak scientist, Igor Kapišinský.

Dominik Kapišinský (19) was hit by four bullets into the stomach area while standing on his balcony on the 11th floor of a nearby building.

Investigation

The account said that investigation of the shootings concluded on July 13, 2011.

Six months after the incident, Slovak police were still not able to determine the number of bullets fired by Harman and the number fired by the police.

Because of widespread speculation that some victims could have been caused by police officers during what was described as a weakly organised encounter, partial results of the investigation by the Expert forensic office of the Slovak Police force were made public in February 2011. The partial results claimed that the only person ever to be hit by police was the shooter.

The final results of the investigation were initially released to the TV station Markíza. The account said Markíza reporters claimed that Harman fired 140 bullets (24 inside the apartment and 116 in the street). It said the police fired altogether 15 bullets, one of them hit the attacker. It also said the reporters claimed that the investigator heard dozens of testimonies and that the prosecution was stopped because the accused was dead.

Controversy

Information withholding

The account said that authorities did not make any information about the attack public until a press briefing by Interior Minister Daniel Lipšic at 14:39 p.m., despite numerous demands by journalists. It said this, together with the shooting occurring in a densely populated area with dozens of eyewitnesses with mobile phones, digital cameras and internet connections, led news media to rely on accounts from Facebook and word-of-mouth. The account said many of these information later turned out to be false and added to the panic.

It said that when Minister Lipšic addressed the public over four hours after Harman's death, he began talking about a need for buying new guns for Slovak police before telling the public what happened and whether it was safe to come outside their homes. It also said that before telling the public what happened, he attacked his predecessor, the previous Interior Minister, talked about unsuitability of current crime statistics without knowing that the attack was random, and praised the police action without any analysis of the police response.

The account stated that besides a brief message instructing people to stay inside their flats played over a few small loudspeakers on the streets, citizens received no information about the shooting until over four hours after the attack ended. It said that after the shooting, no one gave the public information that it was safe again to resume their lives.

The account said Slovak police chief Jaroslav Spišiak and Minister Lipšic maintained that the response was well executed and that two minutes after receiving first call police were already engaging Harman. It also said most witnesses agreed that police actions were slow, chaotic and poorly organised.

It said an article published on September 2, 2010 in major Slovak weekly Plus 7 Dní reported chaos and uncertainty among citizens at the crime scene.

The account said that journalists Lenka Ďurajková and Lukáš Milan stated that even in the afternoon, policemen outwardly lied to people asking about the safety situation. It included a quoted reply from a policeman: "Didn't you hear the message over the public radio?!". It also included a quoted reply from another policeman: "Do you want to risk it?".

Discrepancies in the official version of events

The account stated that, contrary to the official version, witness Vincent Fratrič said it took approximately 10 minutes since Jozef Pútik's (49) death until the first police car showed up.

According to an interview with victim Dominik Kapišinský (19), the account said the police action against Harman was poorly executed and that the police did not have the situation under control. It said that at the time he was shot there were already two policemen at the scene, but instead of shooting at the attacker and distracting him away before he shot Kapišinský four times, they were only shouting at Harman.

Outcome

Eight people (including the perpetrator) died and at least 17 were injured after Harman opened fire in Devínska Nová Ves district. Harman died after committing suicide at 10:16 a.m. on August 30, 2010.

Aftermath

Immediate reaction

Interior Minister Daniel Lipšic and national police chief Jaroslav Spišiak arrived at the site. President Ivan Gašparovič, Mayor of Bratislava Andrej Ďurkovský and Prime minister Iveta Radičová expressed condolences.

The Slovak government, at a special session on 31 August, declared a national day of mourning on September 2, 2010 to commemorate the victims of the shooting rampage.

The account said relatives of the perpetrator faced death-threats from relatives of the victims after the act.

It stated that after consulting police, Harman’s mother, father, brother and sister together with their families probably fled to Hungary to take refuge by relatives living there. It said Slovak police were unwilling to comment on this issue.

It stated that police spokeswoman Petra Hrášková said: "information that Harman's family is hiding abroad at the advice of the police cannot be confirmed or denied".

Apartment disinfected and belongings handled

On September 2, 2010, authorities disinfected the apartment and hauled all belongings inside to be burned. The account said this caused strong disagreement among relatives of some victims who claimed the apartment contained valuables. It said footage made by TV Markíza showed more police had to be summoned to the crime scene to handle the situation.

Authorities claimed one of the attacker's bullets punctured a water pipe in the apartment. The account said this caused flooding and destroyed much of the stuff inside. It also said the situation had to be dealt with because the crime scene posed a public health hazard.

Long-term response

The following day, Interior Minister Daniel Lipšic announced that Slovak police were ready to implement changes to prevent similar attacks in the future, mainly arming police officers with Škorpion vz. 61 submachine guns. The plan was immediately criticized by police and military experts and journalists alike, the account said, because the gun had only limited effectiveness at larger distances and would have not changed anything in the case of this massacre.

Later, without much publicity, the Slovak police was issued Vz. 58 assault rifles, the same model as used by the shooter. After instances of policemen losing Vz. 58 rifles, the measure came under criticism in February 2011, the account said. It cited a policeman in Bratislava who forgot his assault rifle on the roof of his vehicle and drove off, with the rifle later slipping off at a public transport stop. It also cited a policewoman in Žilina who forgot her Vz. 58 at a gas station after a Sunday coffee.

The parliamentary opposition attacked the arming of police, the account said, saying that arming even traffic police with submachine guns invokes " feeling of civil war " and " scares the tourists ". The account said the ownership of automatic weapons by civilians was supposed to be prohibited under any circumstances, including competitive shooting. It also said ownership of firearms should be possible only with adequate psychological examinations that would have to be retaken every five years. The account said this was proposed also in the past but never passed into law because of the powerful hunting lobby in Slovakia.

On October 12, 2010, a memorial medal was awarded to Peter Novosedlík by the Ministry of Interior. The account said Novosedlík, an ex-police officer, risked his own life when he helped get a wounded policeman into an ambulance. It said he happened to be working about 100 meters away from the place of the massacre.

Other details

Film

On February 17, 2011, the movie "Devínsky masaker" (English: Devín massacre) about the 2010 Bratislava shootings premiered in Slovakia. The account said this 60-minute movie was a combination of documentary and drama, combining documentary-style opinions of witnesses and surviving family members with quick-paced action. It said the family of the shooter refused any cooperation with the filmmakers.

The account said the movie received generally negative critical responses. It said that a week after the premiere, the Czech and Slovak Film Database reported an aggregate score of 28%.

It also included a quoted conclusion attributed to Plus 7 Dní: "Trailers for this movie, where producers let Harman's friend strongly attack the dead victims and about the murdered half-Roma boy Jožko, they manage only to inform us that at the age of 12 he did not yet smoke, do not necessarily attract people into cinemas. But they are guaranteed to stir the passions."

The account stated the movie title was technically incorrect because the massacre took place in the district of Devínska Nová Ves not the district of Devín, and it said it correctly would be "Devínsko Novoveský masaker".