This person would attack you in a shopping mall, sports facility or on the subway
– said police instructor Pavel Cerny to the CTK news agency regarding the security precautions raised due to the university attack.
He explained: the installation of metal detectors and the establishment of checkpoints would entail significant expenses and would represent obstacles in everyday life instead of the expected effect. And a school custodian, instead of stopping the attacker, would become his first victim – said the teacher about the stricter measures proposed at the entrance of schools. He also drew attention to the fact that the queues formed at the checkpoints could become the attacker’s targets.
Regarding the gun ban proposed in the students’ petition, he explained: in his view, the ban imposed on civilians cannot lead to a solution.
If the person had not obtained a firearm legally, they would have committed the attack with something else
– he said, recalling the case of mass murderer Olga Hepnarová, sentenced to death and executed in 1975, who in 1973 drove her van into a crowd waiting at a tram stop after realizing she could not get a gun.
Cerny said that instead of security restrictions and gun bans, preparing people with training and drills could be an effective way to counter similar threats. These protection regulations should include how someone can recognize that they are in danger, how they can notify the security forces and how they should prepare for their arrival, he added.
In his view, it would also be useful to introduce a system that would send a warning with instructions to mobile devices within a defined area.
Off-duty police officers could also play an important role in preventing such attacks, if they were allowed to carry their service weapons again after their working hours, he added, lamenting that the police officers who were the first to arrive at the university shooting did not have the appropriate firearms to deal with the killer.
Cover image source: Getty Images
