Kalinak: Shooting near Velky Meder Was Unambiguously Justified

Kalinak: Shooting near Velky Meder Was Unambiguously Justified

Bratislava, May 11 (TASR) – Interior Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD) told journalists on Wednesday that, based on the information available so far, he finds the action taken by customs officers near Velky Meder (Trnava region) in which a Syrian woman suffered a gunshot injury to be unambiguously justified and appropriate for the situation.

Kalinak said that there are standard police procedures in which officers have the right to use their service weapon if a vehicle refuses to obey their orders.

“We can’t know what is in the car, and the car might also threaten innocent civilians. There’s always a huge risk of injury in these actions. Fortunately, the ratio between the number of such shootings aimed at halting vehicles and the number of injuries is favourable,” said Kalinak. According to him, everyone knows that if they disobey an order by an armed officer of the state, steps similar to the ones used in Velky Meder will follow.

The female migrant from Syria who was shot in the early hours of Monday underwent an operation and is in hospital in Dunajska Streda (Trnava region) in a stable condition. According to media reports, customs officials close to Velky Meder flagged down four cars full of migrants that entered Slovakia from Hungary. One of the vehicles allegedly refused to stop, prompting the authorities to open fire at its tyres, during which the female migrant was hit.

The arrested individuals were transferred into the custody of the National Unit for Combating Illegal Migration.

Kalinak said on Wednesday that the migrant situation has started to heat up over the past couple of weeks. “The figures are roughly the same as last year. We’ll take necessary measures,” said Kalinak, conceding that border checks will be carried out.