21 December 2023 , 14:51
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A lone gunman at a university in Prague has killed at least 14 people and left 25 more injured, in the Czech Republic’s worst mass shooting, police and the city’s rescue service said.
The bloodshed took place in the philosophy department building of Charles University, where the shooter was a student, Prague Police Chief Martin Vondrasek said. The gunman also died and has been named in local media as David Kozak.
Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan said investigators do not suspect a link to any extremist ideology or groups and chilling footage shows people running for their lives as panic struck. Vondrasek said police believe the gunman killed his father earlier Thursday in his hometown of Hostoun, just west of Prague, and that he had also been planning to kill himself.
Later on, it emerged that ministers had a working theory that Kozak could have been linked to the deaths of two people, a man and a two-month-old daughter, last week in the Klanovicky forest near Prague. Chilling social media posts of the shooter's almost emerged in which he revealed how he fantasised and planned over the attack.
In one chilling post, he allegedly wrote: "I want to do school shooting and possibly suicide. I always wanted to kill. I thought I would become a maniac in the future."
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The toll of deaths in Thursday's tragedy could have been much higher if it wasn't for the professionalism of the police. Rakušan said: "There was a large quantity of ammunition and if the police hadn't entered the building in time, the perpetrator wouldn't have been dead on the roof and there would have been a lot more victims."
Horrifying images showed people fleeing in the streets near Jan Palach Square with their hands in the air. One student shared a post on X, formerly Twitter, showing a hastily made barricade inside his classroom. He wrote: "Currently stuck inside my classroom in Prague. The shooter is dead, but we are waiting to be evacuated. Praying to make it out alive. Locked the door before the shooter tried to open it." A witness who said she was at the scene told Czech news outlet Mlada Fronta Dnes: "Suddenly I heard shooting."
People were seen fleeing the scene of the tragedy in downtown Prague (V_of_Europe/X)The suspect suffered "devastating injuries" but it wasn't clear if he killed himself or was shot to death in an exchange of gunfire with officers, Vondrasek said, adding that there was "nothing to suggest that he had an accomplice." The suspect legally owned several guns, and what he did was "well thought out, a horrible act", Vondrasek said.
The British Embassy in Prague also took to X. A post read: "If you are in the vicinity of the Faculty of Arts in the centre of Prague, follow the advice of local authorities. UK nationals in need of consular assistance can get in touch with the Embassy via: http://bit.ly/contactUKinCR Phone: + 420 257 402 111."
Are you in the area? Have you been affected? Email [email protected]
People nearby were caught on camera fleeing for their lives in the wake of the shooting (X/LeoMenindez)
Suspected gunman David Kozak, a Philosophy student (CZECH POLICE/UNPIXS)Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan has told Czech public television the person who opened fire was dead. Rakusan said there's no other shooter at the scene and there's no imminent further danger, but he urged people to cooperate with police. Police say officers were deployed due to a shooting at a school in Jan Palach Square. The Philosophical Faculty of Charles University, located at the square has been evacuated, Prague mayor Bohuslav Svoboda said.
Police have sealed off the area around the square (AFP via Getty Images)The building forms part of the square and faces a bridge across the river with a view of Prague Castle, the seat of the Czech presidency. President Petr Pavel said he was "shocked" by what happened and offered his condolences to the relatives of the victims. Where tourists, students and others would normally be enjoying the view of the iconic monument instead reflected chaos and terror on Thursday afternoon.
Police vehicles and ambulances sped across the bridge with their sirens wailing to each the empty square, which was sealed off by officers. Some video footage from the scene showed people being evacuated from the building and others trying to hide by a wall.
The government quickly sought to quell concerns that the massacre was backed by foreign interests. "There's no indication that it has anything to do with international terrorism," Mr Rakusan said. Prime Minister Petr Fiala has declared Saturday 23 December a day of national mourning. During the day of mourning, flags will be flown at half-staff and a minute of silence will be held nationwide. Bells across the country will toll for the victims of the attack, according to Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala.