Bohumín arson attack

The Bohumín arson attack took place on 8 August 2020 at an apartment building on Nerudova Street in the town of Bohumín, roughly 300 km north-east of Prague, Czech Republic. Police arrested 54-year-old arsonist Zdeněk Konopka in front of the building. The perpetrator, who had four prior criminal convictions, admitted to pouring 8 liters[1] of gasoline into plastic bottles at a nearby petrol station and going to his son's flat. It was bustling with people who were celebrating a birthday party to which the perpetrator was not invited. He poured the gasoline in the hallway within the flat and then onto the entrance doors and set it ablaze. This led to the extremely fast spread of the fire throughout the flat with no escape route possible.[2]

Bohumín arson attack
View of the top part of the attacked building (11 August 2020)
LocationNerudova Street, Bohumín, Czech Republic
Date8 August 2020 (2020-08-08)
c. 5:45 p.m.
Attack type
Familicide, mass murder, arson
WeaponsGasoline (8 liters)
Deaths11
Injured15
PerpetratorZdeněk Konopka[1]
MotiveFamilicide
VerdictLife imprisonment

The fire on the 11th story of the 13-story building killed a total of six people. Four people managed to save themselves by climbing through balconies to a nearby flat. Five more people, all of them already on fire, jumped to their deaths out of a window from a room without a balcony. Casualties included three children. The perpetrator's son, grandson, soon-to-be daughter-in-law and estranged wife all died.[3][4][5][6] The perpetrator suffered burn wounds on his hands and legs.[2]

The attack is the deadliest mass murder in post-WW2 Czech history.

Fire

Authorities received multiple phone calls about the fire at 17:46 and 47. At 17:49, the fire department dispatched units from Bohumín (one fire engine + one ladder truck), Karviná (two fire engines) and Orlová (one fire engine + one ladder truck). Furthermore, the dispatcher called volunteer units from Bohumín-Šunychl (one fire engine) and Starý Bohumín (one fire engine) and a special high rise ladder truck from Ostrava.[7]

The building was first reached by units from Bohumín and Starý Bohumín at 17:54 who immediately raced to the 11th floor to start rescue operations. Trucks from nearby Orlová reached the building at 18:01, volunteer units from Bohumín-Šunychl at 18:04 and units from 16 km-distant Karviná at 18:06. 28 firemen took part in the initial rescue operation, with more arriving afterwards for a total of 46 fire personnel with nine fire engines and three ladder trucks.[7]

When firemen reached the building, the flat was already completely ablaze. Five people jumped out of a window to their deaths while a landing mattress was being prepared. The fire was under control at 18:30 and completely extinguished at 19:43.[7]

Victims

Six people were killed in the fire and five more from falling for a total of eleven fatalities. Nine people were rescued from other flats. Fifteen people needed medical attention, ten of them requiring transfer to a hospital. Among the injured were two firemen. A volunteer firefighter inhaled smoke and a professional firefighter suffered serious burns to the neck.[7]

Media identified the following victims:[8]

  • Lukáš Konopka (30), perpetrator's son
  • Dominik (9), perpetrator's grandson
  • Lenka V. (30), perpetrator's soon-to-be daughter-in-law who was celebrating 30th birthday
  • Silvia (53), perpetrator's estranged wife and Lukáš Konopka's mother
  • Jana (73), perpetrator's mother-in-law
  • Nikola G. (17, 8 months pregnant), Lenka V.'s sister, who fell out of the window after lengthy effort to hold onto its ledge
  • Melinka (11)
  • (four dead unidentified by media)

Wounded victims who managed to climb through balconies to neighbour's flat:[9]

  • Rostislav, who was in bathroom during initial blaze, suffered serious burns
  • Žaneta, mother of victims Lenka and Nikola, who was with Rostislav in bathroom during initial blaze, suffered serious burns
  • Jakub A., partner of victim Nikola
  • Pavel

Perpetrator

Police arrested 54-year-old Zdeněk Konopka in front of the building and two days later charged him with multiple murder and public endangerment.

According to the remand request filed by State Attorney Michal Król, the perpetrator had planned the attack in advance. He consumed alcohol in order to strengthen his resolve, filled two plastic bottles with gasoline at a nearby petrol station, and went to the flat with full knowledge of the birthday party that was taking place inside. The perpetrator stood in front of the entrance doors with open bottles of gasoline in each hand and rang the doorbell. A female, whose name was withheld in the publicly released remand request, opened the doors. Thereafter, the perpetrator threw one of the open bottles at the female victim, who reacted by slamming the doors shut. The perpetrator then poured the remaining gasoline onto the doors, with some of it pouring under the doors into the flat, and set it on fire.[10][11][12] The perpetrator suffered burn wounds on his hands and legs. He went outside where he was confronted by the police and immediately arrested.[11][12]

The Karviná district court ordered his remand on 11 August. If convicted, he may be sentenced to life imprisonment.[11][12]

The perpetrator had four prior criminal convictions, two of them for violent crimes. He was known for aggressiveness as well as high consumption of alcohol. Several weeks before the arson attack, the perpetrator threatened his wife and son with a gas pistol at a nearby lake. Police didn't seek the perpetrator's remand at the time as the weapon used was not suitable to cause injury (the perpetrator could not legally possess a real firearm due to his criminal record, see Gun laws in the Czech Republic). After the incident, the perpetrator's wife moved to the son's flat. Police investigation into this incident was still open at the time of the arson attack.[13]

Police response

Initial investigations conducted by the police revealed that the fire was deliberately set and concluded the incident was an arson attack. The motive was said to be a conflict within the family.[14] Police officials detained Konopka, who is accused in connection with the incident, and during an interview with Česká televize, regional police chief Tomáš Kužel compared the incident to the 2013 Frenštát pod Radhoštěm explosion which eventually killed seven people.[15]

Sentencing

On 30 November 2021, the County Court in Ostrava accepted a plea bargain concluded between the perpetrator and the State Attorney, under which the perpetrator admitted guilt and accepted a sentence of life imprisonment. In doing so, the perpetrator avoided a lengthy public court trial.[1]

Other mass murders

The attack is the worst mass murder in post-WW2 Czech history (see list of massacres). Other mass murders in the Czech Republic in the past decade include the 2013 Harok family murder and Frenštát pod Radhoštěm apartment building explosion, the 2015 Uherský Brod shooting and the 2019 Ostrava hospital attack. The January 2020 Vejprty care center fire was also started deliberately according to investigators, however no one has been charged with causing 8 deaths therein yet.[16] Another attempted mass murder in Lenora in 2019 ended with only the arsonist's loss of life.[17]

See also

References

  1. "Soud schválil dohodu o doživotí pro žháře z Bohumína. Zavinil SMRT 11 lidí". 30 November 2021.
  2. "Obviněný žhář z Bohumína jde do vazby, k soudu přišel v neprůstřelné vestě". Novinky.cz.
  3. "Police: 10 killed in apartment fire in the Czech Republic". journal-news. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  4. "Czech apartment fire kills 11, including three children - iDNES.cz". Reuters. 8 August 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  5. "Several killed in Czech apartment building fire, suspect arrested". Aljazeera.com. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  6. "Eleven people killed in Czech Republic apartment building fire". euronews. 8 August 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  7. "Hasiči zveřejnili podrobnosti k zásahu u požáru s tragickými následky". Město Bohumín.
  8. "Jakub popsal děsivé chvíle z Bohumína: Kvůli požáru přišel o přítelkyni a nenarozené miminko". Extra.cz. 18 August 2020.
  9. "Přežili bohumínské peklo, teď je ale čeká šok! Konopka jim zabil jejich blízké". Expres.cz. 15 August 2020. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020.
  10. "Detaily hrůzy: Žhář z Bohumína nedal obětem šanci, hořlavinu chrstl do bytu a zapálil dveře". Expres.cz. 28 August 2020.
  11. "Obviněný z požáru v Bohumíně jde do vazby, přivedli ho v neprůstřelné vestě". iDNES.cz. 11 August 2020.
  12. "Příběh žháře Zdeňka (54): Kdo je muž, který zabil syna, vnuka, exmanželku a další nevinné lidi?". Blesk. 10 August 2020.
  13. "Žhář z Bohumína je stíhán i za červnový incident s pistolí". Novinky.cz.
  14. "11 killed in suspected arson at Czech apartment block". AlKhaleej Today (in Arabic). 9 August 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  15. "Deadly fire at Czech apartment block, arson suspected". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  16. "stacionář překlad z češtiny do angličtiny". Seznam Slovník.
  17. "Útok v Lenoře: lidé na agresivního souseda upozorňovali policii i starostu". iDNES.cz. 6 October 2019.
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