Government to review mental health care, school security following Ždár knife attack

The Czech government will review the system of mental health care and school security rules after Tuesday’s deadly knife attack at a secondary school in Žďár nad Sázavou, Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said. The attack by a 26-year-old woman who allegedly suffers from schizophrenia left one student dead and another three people injured. The intruder committed a similar attack in 2012 and was confined to a psychiatric hospital. However, she was released in February after doctors said she had made progress in her treatment.

PM Sobotka said a failure of the country’s system of care for mental patients could not have been ruled out, and asked Health Minister Svatopluk Němeček to review it. The justice minister should meanwhile review decisions by courts and prosecutors which allowed the alleged attacker to leave hospital, and the education minister should check security rules at Czech schools. The government is set to debate the reports by the end of November, Mr Sobotka said.

Author: Jan Richter