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PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech government has approved a plan to tighten the country's gun laws, a move prompted by a rare deadly shooting in a small-town restaurant earlier this year.
Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka says the mandatory license for any gun holder will be effective only for five years instead of 10 as it is now and police will get increased powers to seize guns and ammunition.
Monday's move still needs parliamentary approval.
At lunchtime on Feb 24, a gunman entered the Druzba, or "Friendship," restaurant in the southeastern town of Uhersky Brod and opened fire, killing eight people and seriously wounding one before he fatally shot himself.
Authorities ruled out terrorism.
The gunman was a 63-year-old local man who had no criminal record and had a gun license.
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