According to Novy cas, French law enforcers provided Slovak police officers with the serial numbers of the firearms, linked to the deadly assaults in Paris.
A spokesperson of the Slovak Interior Ministry told Novy cas Wednesday, the ministry “is working with partners abroad to examine the various clues and cases that may be related to terrorists attacks.”
An investigation by Slovak officers revealed that the guns were purchased in a shop in the west of Slovakia. They were legitimately sold as so-called expanz weapons or blank-firing guns. The criminals could have converted the guns in order to fire live ammunition, according to Euronews.
In Slovakia, it is legal for any person over the age of 18 to purchase this type of gun without a license. The only document required is an ID card. However, a gun license is needed to purchase a wide range of firearms, according to Slovak legislation.
A string of terrorist attacks began in Paris on January 7, when two gunmen broke into the editorial office of the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 people and injuring 11 others.
On January 8, a terrorist who reportedly had links with the Charlie Hebdo attackers shot dead a female French police officer in the Paris suburb of Montrouge. The next day, the same gunman killed four Jewish hostages in a kosher supermarket.
