Following deadly shooting at LGBTQ+ bar in Bratislava, details of suspect’s antisemitic manifesto emerge

Following a deadly shooting at an LGBTQ+ bar in Bratislava on Wednesday, details of the suspect’s antisemitic manifesto have emerged.

The suspected gunman, who police have said was found dead on Thursday morning, opened fire outside the bar, killing two and wounding one.  

While police have said they are trying to determine the motive of the assailant, local media are reporting that the shooter held white supremacist, antisemitic and LGBTQ+ phobic views. Additionally, police are reportedly investigating the possibility that the weapon used in the incident belonged to the gunman’s father, said to be a former candidate for a far-right party.

The suspect is alleged to have tweeted a lengthy manifesto prior to the attack, in which he spewed hate for Jews and LGBTQ+ people, alongside the hashtag “#hatecrime”. 

The manifesto, in which the suspect reportedly called for the “total eradication of all Jews”, is said to have been adorned with the Nazi sonnedrad, or sun wheel, symbol. 

The document was said to have “contained a stream of racist and antisemitic rhetoric” and the suspect reportedly praised white supremacist terrorists Brenton Tarrant and Anders Behring Breivik as “heroes and role models”.  

Local groups have organised a march this evening to honour the victims and to stand against hatred towards members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Eduard Heger, the Prime Minister of Slovakia, made a statement in which he said: “It is unacceptable that anyone should fear for their life because of the way they live,” adding: “No form of extremism is allowed.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism closely monitors the far-right, which remains a dangerous threat to the Jewish community and other minority groups.