Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic on Wednesday strongly condemned the shooting outside the government on Monday, saying it was very dangerous to downplay "such an aggressive and violent act."

“The target was a policeman, a man guarding order and Croatian citizens. I have no understanding for those who are downplaying that violent act,” he told RTL television.

He said society must be clear on that. There is no place for aggressive behaviour and hate, we must fight that with all we have, he added.

“That was an attempted murder. There is no justification for that,” Jandrokovic told the politicians and individuals who are trying to justify that act of violence.

He wished the officer who was wounded a quick recovery and supported his family.

Illegal weapons should be returned

Speaking for Nova TV, Jandrokovic called on citizens who had illegal weapons to return them.

“A young man lost his life. If he hadn’t had that weapon at home, perhaps this wouldn’t have happened,” he said about the shooter who committed suicide, adding that after Monday’s incident in St. Mark’s Square, security was definitely becoming more and more important.

Jandrokovic said he was not for completely closing off St. Mark’s Square but for finding a way to guarantee security and allow citizens to come there.

“I’ve been in many states and nowhere is there such open access to the government and parliament. After this attack, besides openness, it’s also necessary to think about security,” he told RTL.

Some are trying to undermine credibility of DORH, USKOK

He was hopeful that a probe into information leaks from secret investigations would uncover who was leaking information.

I too am interested in why that is happening, Jandrokovic said, adding that the investigation into the JANAF corruption case had been one of the most successful operations by the State Prosecutor’s Office (DORH), the USKOK anti-corruption office and the police.

“At this moment in time it’s necessary to support those institutions in doing their job and punishing those who broke the law. It seems that some of those participating in public arguments, including the president, are trying to undermine the credibility of DORH and USKOK and the police and downplay what they have done. That’s not good.”

Jandrokovic returned to parliament today after recovering from coronavirus. He said that as of next week parliament would take a short regular break, adding that it would be good in order to make sure that as few staff were sick as possible.