Hradec Králové, Czech Republic: Hundreds express condolences to the family of 14-year-old stabbed to death at the local railway station
On Sunday, 7 January, a commemorative ceremony was held for 14-year-old Filip, who died in the late afternoon last Thursday after being stabbed. Several hundred people attended and expressed their condolences to the family, friends and relatives of the deceased.
A 32-year-old man was arrested shortly after the crime was committed and subsequently charged with murder. The remembrance site was decorated with dozens of candles and Filip’s photograph.
Speakers included the Mayor of Hradec Králové, Pavlína Springerová, who expressed regret for the death of the young person. “Ladies and gentlemen, we have gathered here to mark the absolutely unnecessary loss of a young life. Filip could have lived here with us for decades more. His life was supposed to be pulsating here in Hradec or in the surroundings. He was supposed to be here with all of us and with his family above all,” the mayor said in her speech before calling for the Romani community and the town to collaborate together.
“We have assembled here to say that we do not want this situation to recur and that it is up to all of us that it not recur, and for that I reason I want to share my dream with you, my idea that this will not be about us and you, but that we will all be in this together, the community of Hradec, you can’t do this without us and we also cannot do without you, so let’s united, let’s be together, let’s work on Hradec being a safe place to live. Hradec has always been a safe town, and you and we all, the entire Hradec community, want our children, ourselves, our grandmothers and grandfathers, our families to live well and safely, let’s join forces for that and our society, our shared society, will be stronger,” said the mayor before expressing her condolences to the family.
“I thank you for the opportunity to share our common pain about Filip with you all, I am expressing my sincere, deep condolences to his family, both personally and in the name of our town. This has greatly affected us,” the mayor said before calling on those present to observe a minute of silence for Filip.
Marco Cavali, the ex-chair of the Roma Luma political party and one of the co-chairs of the Association of Romani Entrepreneurs, Social Enterprises, Societies and Freelancers (Asociace romských podnikatelů, sociálních podniků, spolků a živnostníků) also spoke during the ceremony. “This has affected all of us, Roma and the majority. We also want to say that you should all keep an eye on where your children go, who they hang out with, what kinds of people there are around us. You know that today it is not easy for us, for all of us, for families, for our Romani community, to live in harmony, it’s complicated. So let us all pay our respects to Filip and the bereaved,” Cavali said.
The entire event took place peacefully without incident. Local and state police patrols were on the scene to maintain order.
The tragic incident happened on Thursday, 4 January 2024 at about 17:30 in the yard of the railway station in Hradec Králové. The 32-year-old man from Hradec Králové, according to police, got into an argument with the 14-year-old boy and attacked him with a kitchen knife; the boy succumbed to his injuries at the scene.
Police apprehended the alleged assailant one hour after the crime was committed and charged him with murder the next day. The court subsequently remanded him into custody.
Locals believe the alleged perpetrator was a drug user who was mentally ill and who aggressively begged near the railway station quite frequently.
