There may even be a turn of events, but nothing can be ruled out for the time being: certain signs indicate that they were companions of the attacker.

The investigative authorities are also investigating the possibility that the assassin who fatally wounded Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico may not have acted alone, Slovak Interior Minister Matús Sutaj Estok told reporters in Bratislava on Sunday.

According to the head of the ministry, there are signs of this.

He said that an investigative team had been set up, which is also investigating the possibility that it was not a "lone wolf" as previously assumed. According to Estok, one such clue is that two hours after the assassination, content was deleted from the perpetrator's Facebook page, when he was already in official custody, that is, when he no longer had access to them.

He added that the erasure was most likely not done by the suspect's wife.

Matús Sutaj Estok said that according to one version, the background of the crime could be "a group of certain people", whose members "encouraged and supported each other in committing this crime".

Slovak Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Robert Kalinák announced on Sunday that the shot Slovak prime minister is beyond the worst, his life is no longer in danger, but he needs intensive care.

The prime minister has been in hospital since Wednesday, when a man opened fire on him. His injuries were very serious. Robert Fico underwent a five-hour operation on Wednesday and a shorter one on Friday at the hospital in Besztercebánya, central Slovakia.

The attacker, identified by Slovak media as 71-year-old Juraj Cintula, fired five shots at the prime minister, hitting him four times. On Saturday, the assailant was brought before a special court based in Bazin (Pezinok), northeast of Bratislava, which arrested him.

As previously reported by the press, the assassin repeatedly expressed his displeasure with Fico's policies. He participated in demonstrations where they demonstrated against the pro-peace policy of the Fico government.

Traitors, collaborators, long live Ukraine! he shouted at this demonstration.

Hungarian Nation

Cover photo: Robert Fico, leader of the Direction - Social Democracy (Smer-SD) party
Source: MTI/AP/Darko Bandic