Hungarian police track down witnesses of HQ attack

"Police have several eyewitnesses to give information on the attack on the National and Budapest police headquarters in Teve utca early Tuesday, and several leads could help uncover the crime," National Bureau of Investigation (NNI) spokeswoman Emese Horváczy told reporters yesterday.

She explained that "NNI staff have nine lines of investigation, and the police are still searching for the driver and passengers of a black Volkswagen Golf that was seen driving along Teve utca during the shooting."

A sub-machine gun fired a volley of bullets at the police station from a car park on the other side of Róbert Károly körút early Tuesday, and at least Ft 15 million damage was caused by the 15 bullets that hit the building. National Police chief László Bene announced in Salgótarján that the security around police stations had been tightened throughout the country.

Meanwhile, Pécs Republican Regiment commander Brig. Gen. Ferenc Szabó requested the procurement of new equipment "to increase the safety of officially-protected public figures and counter the growing threat." In all these five state-protected individuals have received 80 threats since last September.

Justice Ministry state secretary Ferenc Kondorosi said on MTV's "Nap-kelte" talk show yesterday morning that the Ft 5 million reward for catching the perpetrators of the crime may be increased.

Fidesz national council leader László Kövér described the attack on the police station as "a ruse" when he talked to local residents in the Fidesz office in Budapest's Fifth District yesterday evening. Kövér said "those who benefited from the attack want to divert attention from the real situation in Hungary." He also charged the government with having "played the terror card many times before."

The above story is just one of more than two dozen published today by Hungary Around the Clock, the most comprehensive source of daily English-language news about Hungary. For a free trial of HATC, click here. Hungarian news sources include Népszabadság; Magyar Hírlap; Világgazdaság; Napi Gazdaság; Magyar Nemzet; Népszava; Kossuth Rádió news and Hungarian television's nightly news broadcast.

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