2020 St. Mark's Square shooting

2020 St. Mark's Square shooting
St. Mark's Square where the attack occurred
Location45°49′00″N 15°58′24″E / 45.816554°N 15.973336°E / 45.816554; 15.973336
St. Mark's Square
Zagreb, Croatia
Date12 October 2020 (2020-10-12)
c. 08:03 AM (CEST)
TargetBanski dvori
Attack type
Weapons
Deaths1 (the perpetrator)
Injured1 police officer
PerpetratorDanijel Bezuk
MotiveAnti-establishment

On 12 October 2020, at 8:03 AM CEST, a shooting occurred in St. Mark's Square, Zagreb, Croatia,[a] when 22-year-old Danijel Bezuk approached Banski dvori – the headquarters of the Croatian government and Prime Minister – and started firing at it with a AK-74 assault rifle, wounding a police officer in the process. In the aftermath, the perpetrator ran off to a nearby neighborhood and committed suicide.[3][4] The shooting was formally classified as an act of lone wolf terrorism, motivated by anti-establishment beliefs.[5][2]

Attack

External videos
video icon Video of the attack to the Croatian government building at the St. Mark's Square on YouTube (1:50)

The attack was committed by 22-year-old Danijel Bezuk from Kutina, Croatia, who did not appear at his workplace in Zagreb, but instead headed to St. Mark's Square, where the buildings of the Croatian government (Banski dvori), Croatian Parliament (Sabor) and the Constitutional Court are located. He subsequently took out an automatic rifle (5.45×39mm AK-74)[6] and opened fire on the 33-year-old police officer, Oskar Fiuri, who was guarding the main entrance, wounding him with four rounds, after which he continued shooting on Banski dvori.[7]

Another police officer who was guarding the Parliament on the opposite side of the square noticed what was happening, so he took out his personal weapon and fired at the attacker. Bezuk ran to the nearby street to take cover and reloaded his gun. He returned to fire on the police again, missing the second police officer by a few millimeters, but was again suppressed by police fire, and eventually fled the scene.[7]

The wounded officer, Fiuri, ran approximately 50 metres (160 ft) and collapsed in a state of shock. He was helped by the bystanders, who called an ambulance. The wounded policeman was taken to Sisters of Charity Hospital in Zagreb, where he was treated for his wounds. Police then swarmed St. Mark Square looking for the attacker, but soon received the report of shots heard in the nearby Jabukovac Street, which turned out to be Bezuk taking his own life.[8][4]

Perpetrator

Danijel Bezuk (April 16, 1998 – October 12, 2020) was born in the village of Kletište near Kutina, the youngest of 3 brothers, 7 years before his birth his uncle had died in the Croatian War of Independence. Bezuk also trained at GNK Dinamo and had modest grades during his school years, he attended the Mato Lovrak primary school in Kutina and a vocational school in the same town.[9] As a 13-year-old, he mocked "endangered Serbs" along with posing with a wooden sniper rifle. Growing up with Anti-establishment ideology, Bezuk listened to stories about the treasonous government while growing up. Bezuk reportedly had a hard time dealing with the lack of prosecution of governmental corruption, as well as the trial of Croatian generals in The Hague.[10]

Bezuk's closest friend stated that "He took care of the environment around him, he used to take his own trimmer and cleaned the children's playground, he went around the forest and collected other people's trash. He had no problems and never complained to me about anything." The same friend in question helped Bezuk land a job through their mutual connection, prior to his new job Bezuk worked as an apple picker in Germany. The day before the shooting Bezuk had slept in an unspecified hotel in central Zagreb, he didnt show up to his place of work and arrived to Banski Dvori by a taxi.[11]

Motives

Soon after the attack, the Croatian media found out the attacker's identity and started analyzing Bezuk's Facebook account, which featured written statuses, expressing his frustrations with the state of affairs in Croatia. The posts included a link to a YouTube video dedicated to snipers, captioned with: "I wish I was one of these guys, to take out Serbs". In another post, he described himself as "a tourist in his own country". In yet another post, he expressed his support for far-right Croatian Party of Rights' (HSP) early-1990s paramilitary wing, Croatian Defence Forces (HOS). In his last Facebook status before committing suicide, he wrote: "Enough with the frauds and ruthless trampling of human values without [any] responsibility".[8]

In February 2021, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković stated that the motive of the attack was his party Croatian Democratic Union's (HDZ) coalition with the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS).[12][13]

Reactions

After the Croatian media started writing about Bezuk's Facebook profile, his profile received support from many other users, which was later deleted.[14] In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, President Zoran Milanović held a press conference in which he called the government to protect the central state institutions, saying that "they are not a tourist destination".[15] On the same day, police raided Bezuk's family home, where they apparently found two rifles with optical sights, silencers, and over 1,000 pieces of ammunition.[16][17] On 14 October, Prime Minister Plenković said that "[Croatia is] having a serious issue with radicalism" and that the attack had elements of terrorism.[18] He urged the police, State's Attorney Office of the Republic of Croatia and Security and Intelligence Agency to investigate "how a young man could become so radicalized". He appealed to society to "raise the level of respect, in order to build a public culture which will prevent similar incidents from happening".[18] On 15 October 2020, Minister of Croatian Veterans Tomo Medved, while commenting the attack, pointed out that there was a "series of clues indicating that the Prime Minister himself was the attacker's target".[19]

Investigation

On 16 October, Croatian daily newspaper Jutarnji list, referring to the source from the police, published the article saying that prior to the attack Bezuk searched the internet for texts and photographs of government office location, building interior and regular movements of the President and the Prime Minister.[20] The shooting was formally classified as an act of lone wolf terrorism by the Croatian Parliament and National Security Council.[5][2]

The investigation was concluded on 22 July 2021. The State's Attorney Office rejected the criminal complaint against Bezuk since he was deceased, and reported that the investigation found no evidence that there were any accomplices or instigators to the attack.[21] In September 2022, Jutarnji list wrote that Bezuk's final message before committing suicide was identical to paroles of radical Croatian right-wing group called Banovina Horosan[22] which advocates spread of Islam and of Sharia law in Croatia.[23][24]

Closure of St. Mark's Square

Following the attack, the police fenced off St. Mark's Square, announcing an "emergency security plan" for the area.[25] During the reconstruction of the Banski Dvori later that year, the square was temporarily re-opened to the public for walkthroughs. Several politicians have called on the Ministry of the Interior to reopen the square, in order to allow tourist and resident access to Zagreb's historic Upper Town.[26][25]

Since 2020, the square has remained closed. St. Mark's Square was retrofitted with high-security fencing, barricades, and advanced surveillance after the incident. On 26 November 2020, St. Mark's Square was officially designated a "Category 1" guarded area due to its proximity to sensitive government infrastructure.[27]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Croatian: Napad na Trgu svetog Marka

References

  1. ↑ "Police published video footage of a Mark Square Attack: there are elements of terrorism" (in Croatian). Večernji.hr. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 "The Domestic Policy and National Security Committee, behind closed doors, discussed the 12 October 2020 attack on Government House". Croatian Parliament. 2 February 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
  3. ↑ "Croatian police find weapons after shooting outside govt. HQ". Washington Post. Associated Press. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 16 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  4. 1 2 "Jutarnji list - Kako je Bezuk s kalašnjikovom došao do Vlade? Dva ključna pitanja o napadu i dalje su misterij". www.jutarnji.hr (in Croatian). 14 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  5. 1 2 Petrović, Valentino (1 November 2020). "Croatia political briefing: Armed Attack on the Building of Croatian Government: Who Was Responsible?" (PDF). China–CEE Institute. p. 3. Retrieved 31 May 2026. As it was quoted, the Prime Minister considers this to be a terrorist attack as he claims that it was clear that Bezuk tried to enter the building of Government and continue with his slaughter.
  6. ↑ Dešković, Miljuš, Marin, Dušan. "St. Mark Square Attacker Used the Rare Rifle Kalashnikov Variant Called "The Bone Breaker"". Jutarnji list. HINA. Retrieved 15 October 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. 1 2 "Take a look on St. Mark Square attack video footage". Index.hr. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  8. 1 2 "ŠTO JE NAPADAČ S MARKOVOG TRGA OBJAVLJIVAO NA SVOM FEJSU? 'Da sam barem jedan od njih, da skidam Srbe'… pisao i o 'nepravdi u Haagu'". Net.hr (in Croatian). 12 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  9. ↑ "Doznajemo nove detalje o napadaču na policajca: 'Bio je nezadovoljan i uvijek revoltiran svime...' | Telegram.hr".
  10. ↑ Dešković, Marin; Žabec, Krešimir; Miljuš, Dušan (16 October 2020). "Već sa 13 godina objavljivao statuse o likvidaciji Srba, slušao priče o 'izdajničkoj vlasti'..." Jutarnji list (in Croatian).
  11. ↑ Dešković, Marin; Žabec, Krešimir; Miljuš, Dušan (16 October 2020). "Napadač je prespavao u hostelu pa se taksijem dovezao na Markov trg". Jutarnji list (in Croatian).
  12. ↑ Jelušić, Andrej (22 February 2021). "PLENKOVIĆ OBJASNIO SVOJU REAKCIJU: 'Isti su kao i oni što nas nazivaju srbočetnicima. Pred našu vladu čovjek je pucao oružjem jer smo u koaliciji s SDSS-om'". Dnevno.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  13. ↑ Hina (22 April 2021). "Premijer Andrej Plenković s ministrima položio vijenac kod Kamenog cvijeta u Jasenovcu". Dnevnik.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  14. ↑ "Napadaču s Markova trga profil na Facebooku više nije aktivan". www.24sata.hr (in Croatian). 12 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  15. ↑ "Milanović o pucnjavi na Markovu trgu: Pozivam Vladu da odgovarajuće zaštiti Trg". N1 HR (in Croatian). Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  16. ↑ "Croatian police find weapons after shooting outside govt. HQ". ABC News. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  17. ↑ "Traje pretres imanja i kuće napadača s Markovog trga, oglasio se njegov ujak". www.index.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  18. 1 2 "Plenković o napadu na Markovu trgu: 'Imamo ozbiljan problem s radikalizmom'". www.vecernji.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  19. ↑ "Medved: 'Čitav niz pokazatelja govori da je meta napada na Markovu trgu bio Plenković'". Večernji list (in Croatian). 15 October 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  20. ↑ Dešković, Marin; Žabec, Krešimir; Miljuš, Dušan (16 October 2020). "Što je guglao Danijel Bezuk: Na webu tražio gdje živi i gdje se kreće Plenković, ali i Milanović". Jutarnji list (in Croatian). Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  21. ↑ "DORH utvrdio: Napad na Markovu trgu bio je terorizam" [DORH determined: The attack on St. Mark's Square was terrorism]. N1 (in Croatian). 22 July 2021. Archived from the original on 22 July 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  22. ↑ "Jutarnji list - Uhićeni maloljetnik član je grupe radikala koja huška na nasilni ustanak. Evo što je za njih radio". www.jutarnji.hr (in Croatian). 11 September 2022. Retrieved 12 September 2022. Ne treba zaboraviti da je Danijel Bezuk, prije nego što je krenuo rafalno pucati po zgradi Vlade i pritom teško ranio policajca, u oproštajnom pismu napisao: "Dosta je bilo prevara i bezobzirnog gaženja ljudskih vrijednosti bez odgovornosti". Riječ je praktički o istim parolama koje propagiraju Francišković i njegovi sljedbenici.
  23. ↑ "Jutarnji list - Prepiska organizatora prosvjeda otkriva raskol: 'Mesija Marko bi nam uveo šerijat! Oprez, oprez!'". www.jutarnji.hr (in Croatian). 23 November 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  24. ↑ "'Džihadi Marko' bi uveo šerijat u Hrvatsku, a danas je priveden zbog poticanja na terorizam". Net.hr (in Croatian). 3 December 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  25. 1 2 "Plenkoviću i Božinoviću poslan apel da otvore Markov trg za građane i turiste" [Plenković and Božinović receive an appeal to open St. Mark's Square to citizens and tourists]. N1 (in Croatian). HINA. 15 June 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  26. ↑ Vulić, Antonija (7 January 2022). "Stanarima ne daju do dućana, kose korov s kaldrme: 'To je ružno i nema veze sa sigurnošću'" [Residents not allowed across to reach the shops, weeds are growing among the cobblestones: 'This is unsightly and has nothing to do with security']. Jutarnji list (in Croatian). Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  27. ↑ croatiaweek (26 November 2020). "St Mark's Square in Zagreb designated a guarded area". Croatia Week. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
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