Assassination attempt on Fico: Attacker claims he had no intention of killing Slovak PM

Juraj Cintula, who law enforcement officials say shot Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, said during questioning that he did not intend to kill the politician but only to "harm his health" to prevent him from continuing his policies, according to Slovak publication Pravda, which obtained the suspect's detention order.

According to the document, Cintula said during the interrogation that he had pointed a gun in such a way as not to inflict fatal wounds on Fico and not to injure people around him. The suspect expressed his willingness to apologize to the prime minister, saying that he would do so in person during the trial if given the opportunity, or in writing if not.

He also mentioned that he felt "powerless and frustrated with the state of society" after the decisions of Fico's government and disagreed with the current government's policies, especially the pressure on independent media and cultural workers. Cintula emphasized his desire to restore Slovakia's "provision of military aid to Ukraine" and described the current government as "Judas in relation to the European Union," which led him to take action.

The order states that on May 13, Cintula "decided to retaliate against the government for such policies by harming the Prime Minister's health and planned to do so using a firearm he had legally owned since 1992. He learned of an off-site government meeting through the media and decided to carry out his plan.

The order also states that at 11:20 a.m., Cintula got into his car and took a pistol and two magazines. He drove to the town of Handlová, arriving at 12:20 p.m. The man waited on the square for about an hour until Fico left the cultural center.

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