Former police officer killed in machine gun ambush

A former police officer was killed in Brno on Monday evening after an assailant opened fire with a machine gun on the car he was driving. The attack occurred near the victim’s home, at a spot where he had to slow down. The news website novinky.cz reported that he had been a member of the police’s financial unit and later a detective, before entering politics, standing for the party of former prime minister Miloš Zeman in elections last month. During his time on the force, the man had worked on bankruptcy cases linked to judge Jiří Berka; he is now in prison after being found guilty of criminal conspiracy. Police are searching for the gunman.