The Petřvald shooting was the first mass shooting in the Czech Republic since the country gained independence in 1993.
Key Facts
- Date
- 8 March 2009
- Victims killed
- 4 people
- Perpetrator
- Raif Kačar, 42-year-old Macedonian national
- Weapon
- Illegally held semi-automatic pistol
- Perpetrator's death
- 12 March 2009, Ostrava hospital
- Motive
- Personal disputes with ex-girlfriend and her family
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Raif Kačar harbored personal grievances against his ex-girlfriend and her family. He illegally possessed a semi-automatic pistol and, in the early hours of 8 March 2009, went to the Sokol restaurant in Petřvald, where his ex-girlfriend was celebrating a birthday with her parents and new boyfriend.
At approximately 1:00 a.m., Kačar entered the restaurant and opened fire on the ten occupants present. He shot and killed four people — his ex-girlfriend, her father, her mother, and her current boyfriend — executing them at the scene before attempting suicide.
Kačar survived his self-inflicted injuries briefly but died in an Ostrava hospital on 12 March 2009. The attack drew national attention as the first mass shooting in the Czech Republic since independence in 1993, prompting public discussion about illegal firearms and public safety.