New York: Meta Platforms swiftly took down the account of the alleged shooter targeting Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico after the assault, as revealed by both the company and a state agency on Tuesday. The incident underscores ongoing governmental efforts to ascertain potential collaboration in the attack.
Fico, presently recuperating in the hospital and out of immediate peril after sustaining four gunshot wounds last Wednesday, became the target of the first major assassination attempt on a European political figure in over two decades.
Slovak authorities disclosed on Sunday, four days post the shooting, that the assailant might not have acted alone, contrary to initial assumptions. A key indicator was the deletion of the suspect’s Facebook and communication records post the attack.
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Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok disclosed the formation of an investigative team tasked with probing whether the suspect operated in tandem with a group promoting assassination. Meta announced on Tuesday that they had promptly removed the assailant’s account on the night of the incident and notified Slovak authorities accordingly. The company affirmed its continued cooperation with law enforcement agencies.
Reports initially surfaced on news portals Dennik N and Aktuality regarding Meta’s deletion of the attacker’s Facebook profile. The State Council for Media Services, in a statement, confirmed Meta’s communication on Tuesday regarding the account removal.
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Sutaj Estok, in an interview with broadcaster TA3, reiterated the likelihood of accomplices but stressed the ongoing examination of all possibilities, including the prospect of a lone perpetrator. “I guarantee we will investigate everything,” he affirmed.
Notably, Sutaj Estok had pointed out on Sunday the abrupt erasure of the attacker’s digital footprint, indicating potential involvement of others. “I think that two hours after… committing this act, the perpetrator had all Facebook and communication history erased, and it was not erased by him or apparently by his wife,” he stated.
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Officials assert the attack on Fico bore political motives. Local media identified the suspect, as designated by prosecutors, as Juraj C., a 71-year-old former security guard at a shopping center and a published poet with three collections to his credit.
As of now, neither the suspect nor any legal representative has issued a public statement.
