Viktor Kalivoda (11 September 1977 – 26 September 2010) was a Czech police officer and

spree killer A spree killer is someone who commits a criminal act that involves two or more murders in a short time, often in multiple locations. There are different opinions about what durations of time a killing spree may take place in. The United States ...

who shot and murdered three people in a forest in

Nedvědice Nedvědice is a market town in Brno-Country District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,300 inhabitants. Administrative division Nedvědice consists of two municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 20 ...

over the span of three days October 2005, and was also known by the nickname, the Forest Killer.

Early life and education

Kalivoda was born in

Slaný Slaný (; ) is a town in Kladno District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 17,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, ur ...

, where he studied at a local grammar school, excelling in

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

and

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

. His classmates described him as a silent,

introverted Extraversion and introversion are a central trait dimension in human personality theory. The terms were introduced into psychology by Carl Jung, though both the popular understanding and current psychological usage are not the same as Jung's o ...

loner. In 1996, he passed his

matura or its translated terms (''mature'', ''matur'', , , , , ', ) is a Latin name for the secondary school exit exam or "maturity diploma" in various European countries, including Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech ...

and studied at the Faculty of Informatics of the

Masaryk University Masaryk University (MU) (; ) is the second largest university in the Czech Republic, a member of the Compostela Group and the Utrecht Network. Founded in 1919 in Brno, it now consists of ten faculties and 35,115 students. It is named after To ...

Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...

and the Faculty of Education of the

University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice (, , JU or JČU) is a public university located in the city of České Budějovice (with branch campuses in Tábor, Vodňany, Nové Hrady) in the Czech Republic. Established in 1991, it has mo ...

Career

After completing his studies, Kalivoda began working as a police officer in

Prague 6 Prague 6, officially known as the Municipal District of Prague 6 (''Městská část Praha 6''), is the largest Districts of Prague, district in Prague. Located in the northwest, it covers 41.54 km2 and had a population of 100,600 as of 31 D ...

district of

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. During this period, he attempted

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

several times, once considered to jump off of the

Nusle Bridge Nusle Bridge () is a prestressed concrete viaduct in Prague, Czech Republic. It connects Prague 2 and Prague 4, across a valley which forms part of the Nusle district. The bridge is one of the longest in the country and carries two footpaths, ...

and held a desire to commit a

mass shooting A mass shooting is a violent crime in which one or more attackers use a firearm to Gun violence, kill or injure multiple individuals in rapid succession. There is no widely accepted specific definition, and different organizations tracking su ...

on the Line C of the

Prague Metro The Prague Metro () is the rapid transit network of Prague, Czech Republic. Founded in 1974, the system consists of three lines (Line A (Prague Metro), A, Line B (Prague Metro), B and Line C (Prague Metro), C) serving 61 stationsCounting the thre ...

. On numerous occasions, he arrived at the metro with the intent of shooting commuters, concealing a

pistol A pistol is a type of handgun, characterised by a gun barrel, barrel with an integral chamber (firearms), chamber. The word "pistol" derives from the Middle French ''pistolet'' (), meaning a small gun or knife, and first appeared in the Englis ...

within a newspaper but each time did not find courage to go through with his plan. In 2004, he appeared on the 333rd and 334th episodes of the Czech version of ''

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (WWTBAM) is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, currently owned and licensed by Sony Pictures Televis ...

'', where he won 320,000

Czech koruna The koruna, or crown (sign: Kč; code: CZK, ), has been the currency of the Czech Republic since 1993. The koruna is one of the European Union's eight currencies, and the Czech Republic is legally bound to adopt the euro in the future. The ...

. He was eliminated after incorrectly guessing the name of the father of the Brothers Čapek.

Murders and arrest

Kalivoda began his spree murders on 13 October 2005, where Kalivoda arrived at a forest in

, carrying a

9mm This is a list of firearm cartridges that have bullets in the to caliber In guns, particularly firearms, but not #As a measurement of length, artillery, where a different definition may apply, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviate ...

Glock 34

semi-automatic pistol A semi-automatic pistol (also called a self-loading pistol, autopistol, or autoloading pistol) is a repeating firearm, repeating handgun that automatically ejects and loads cartridge (firearms), cartridges in its chamber (firearms), chamber afte ...

. There he spotted an elderly couple and murdered both by shooting them in the chest and head before fleeing the scene. Three days later on 16 October, he returned to the forest where he came across a man from

Malíkovice Malíkovice is a municipality and village in Kladno District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The c ...

who was walking his dog. Kalivoda took the opportunity and shot him to death, but left the dog alone. On 20 October, he was arrested in front of his house in

on the basis of eyewitness testimonies, where the police found the Glock 34 pistol inside of his residence.

Trial, death and legacy

The trial began in 2006, Kalivoda did not admit his motive during the hearing but admitted his previous intention to commit a mass shooting on the Prague Metro before the triple murder. He did not show regret or remorse for his actions and on 27 June 2006, he was sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...

; according to psychologists, the possibility of

resocialization Resocialization or resocialisation (British English) is the process by which one's sense of social values, beliefs, and norms are re-engineered. The process is deliberately carried out in military boot camps through an intense social process or ...

for him was zero. In prison letters, he admitted to being inspired to commit the murders by Czech

mass murderer Mass murder is the violent crime of murder, killing a number of people, typically simultaneously or over a relatively short period of time and in close geographic proximity. A mass murder typically occurs in a single location where one or more ...

Olga Hepnarová Olga Hepnarová (30 June 1951 – 12 March 1975) was a Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak Spree killer, rampage killer, who on 10 July 1973, killed eight people by ramming them with a truck in Prague. Hepnarová was convicted and sentenced to Capital p ...

, who murdered 8 people in 1973 by running them over with a Praga RN

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport freight, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construct ...

. On 26 September 2010, Kalivoda

killed himself Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or acad ...

in his cell in

Valdice Valdice (until 1950 Kartouzy-Valdice) is a municipality and village in Jičín District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,300 inhabitants. It is known for a former monastery, which is today a high-security prison. ...

Prison by cutting his wrists. Over thirteen years after the suicide of Kalivoda, on the 21 December 2023, 14 people were murdered and 25 others were injured in a mass shooting at the

Faculty of Arts A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In North America, academic divisions are sometimes titled colleges, sc ...

Charles University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in conti ...

. The gunman, 24-year-old postgraduate student

David Kozák On 21 December 2023, 14 people were killed and 22 injured in a mass shooting at the main Faculty of Arts building of Charles University in central Prague, Czech Republic. Another three people were injured when the perpetrator opened fire towar ...

, committed suicide by shooting himself with a

shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, peppergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which discharges numerous small ...

afterwards, also had murdered his own father two hours before the shooting and six days prior had murdered a 32-year-old man and his 2-month-old daughter in Klánovice Forest. Investigators found that Kozák researched Kalivoda, the media drew comparisons between the two as both had murdered people in forests.

References

External links