1994 Osijek café shooting
The 1994 Osijek café shooting was a mass shooting that occurred on June 18, 1994 in Osijek, Osijek-Baranja County, Croatia. Borislav Bešlić, 41, shot dead four people and wounded eight others.[1][2]
| 1994 Osijek café shooting | |
|---|---|
| Location | Osijek, Osijek-Baranja County, Croatia |
| Date | June 18, 1994 |
Attack type | Mass shooting |
| Weapons | Automatic rifle |
| Deaths | 4 |
| Injured | 8 |
| Perpetrator | Borislav Bešlić |
| Motive | Anti-Serb sentiment Croatian nationalism |
Shooting
On the evening of June 18, 1994 in Osijek, Borislav Bešlić returned from the front with an automatic rifle. He went to the café Grafičar. However, the owner closed the gate since there were two groups of people inside, one celebrating the anniversary of graduation. Bešlić ignored the man and entered by climbed through the gate. The celebration was in full swing and the musicians played two Serbian songs. These songs angered Bešlić and he started firing. He first fired through a closed glass door, and then went to the center of the cafe and continued firing. He killed two guests and two waiters and injured eight other people. Afterwards, he sat down at a table and put his weapons down. He immediately surrendered to the police once they entered the building.[3][1][2][4]
Perpetrator
Borislav Bešlić was a member of the fifth Home Guard Regiment Croatia. The commander of his regiment could not explain how he took the weapon with him. Earlier, he had been convicted of setting fire to the "Fruska gora," a restaurant in Osijek.[1][2]