A shooting outside of a gay bar in Bratislava, Slovakia, Wednesday night has left two people dead and another injured.
The shooting occurred outside Teplaren, a gay bar in the city center, around 7 p.m. local time, the BBC reports. The suspect was found dead by police Thursday morning following a manhunt.
Although authorities have not commented on a possible motive for the shooting, the BBC additionally reports that the suspect had allegedly made anti-Jewish and anti-LGBTQ+ posts on social media, according to local media outlets. Local media has also identified him as the son of a former far-right political candidate.
At the time of reporting, few details were made public about the two victims, or the cause of death of the suspect. The third victim, who is recovering, is believed to be a bar employee, the BBC reports.
“The pain is unbearable,” the bar posted to its Facebook page following the incident.
Both Slovakia’s President Zuzana Caputova and Prime Minister Eduard Heger have condemned the attacks following the incident. “It is unacceptable that anyone should fear for their life because of the way they live,” Heger said in a statement, as published by Reuters.
He continued, “I strongly condemn yesterday’s attack in which two people died. No form of extremism is allowed.”
While homosexuality is legal in Slovakia, and same-sex couples have some rights these do remain limited. Same-sex marriage isn’t recognized and gender change is recognized legally only with surgery.
According to data collected by the LGBTQ+ data-tracking company, Equaldex, in 2019, views on homosexuality are divided although skew toward conservative, as they do across much of Eastern Europe.
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