Gunman killed 14 in rampage after sharing mass shooting fantasies online

Tonight's coverage now closed

We’re closing our live blog now, thanks for following along on what has been a very sad today so close to Christmas.

Here’s what we’ve learned so far about today’s mass shooting:

• A 24-year-old student killed at least 14 people and wounded 25 more at a Prague university with authorities fearing the death toll to rise
• The suspect has been named in Czech media as 24-year-old David Kozak and he also died at the scene in unknown circumstances
• The shooting was not linked to international terrorism, the Czech government said, but police say they are looking into "ery fresh unconfirmed information from an account on a social network that he was supposedly inspired by one terrorist attack in Russia"
• The suspect’s father was found dead in a village 13 miles from the Czech capital earlier on Thursday

• Police say that based on a search of the shooter's home, he was suspected in the killing of another man and his two-month-old daughter in the east of Prague earlier this month

Czech Republic announces day of mourning for shooting victims

The Czech Republic will observe a day of mourning Saturday for those killed in the Prague shooting, officials announced at a joint news conference Thursday.

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.

Gunman suspected of killing a man and his baby daughter

The gunman who killed 14 people today in Prague is also suspected of shooting dead a man and his baby daughter in a forest near the Czech capital, police have said.

Police president Martin Vondrasek told reporters that based on a search of his home, the gunman was suspected in the killing of another man and his two-month-old daughter in the east of Prague earlier this month.

Slovak prime minister vows to support Czech Republic

The prime minister of Slovakia has expressed his condolences to the families and loved ones of those killed in the deadly shooting at Charles University in Prague on Thursday and vowed to help the country where he can.

"We stand by our Czech brothers in this difficult situation and are ready to provide any help that would alleviate the consequences of this terrible tragedy", Robert Fico said in a statement.

Brit couple's honeymoon horror being told to 'stay down' during gunman's rampage

Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico (AFP)

Shooting took place short walk from major tourist attraction

The horrific shooting that unfolded this evening took place a short walk from one of Prague's major tourist areas.

The buildings where David Kozak, the alleged shooter, killed at least 14 people is located near the Vltava River in Jan Palach Square, a busy tourist area in Prague’s Old Town.

It is just a few minutes’ walk from the picturesque Old Town Square, a major tourist attraction where thousands of visitors have been enjoying a popular Christmas market.

A member of the public is helped out near the building of Philosophical Faculty of Charles University in downtown Prague (AP)

Prague police looking into whether gunman was 'inspired' by previous mass shootings

Prague police are investigating whether the gunman, said to be David Kozak, was "inspired" by any previous mass shootings.

Police chief Martin Vondrasek said investigators were looking at whether the gunman had been "inspired" by a previous mass shooting in Russia.

This came amid reports Kozak had posted on social media, shortly prior to the attack.

The emergency services cordon at Charles University, in Prague (Getty Images)

Image of what is believed to be gunman's weapon

This is what is thought to be the gunman's weapon, after it was recovered by police.

David Kozak was named by local media this evening as the gunman and it has been confirmed he is dead.

The 24-year-old however is believed to have killed 14 people, with more seriously injured.

An image of what is thought to be the gunman's weapon, recovered by police (CZECH 24 TV/UNPIXS)

'It was like I found myself in a movie', says witness

Ivo Havranek, a diving instructor, said he was near the building when he heard a shot ring out, but he didn't quite believe that was what he had heard.

“Only at the moment when I saw the fully equipped riot police with bulletproof vests and shields, it looked to me that I had found myself in a movie," Havranek said. "But it was obvious that nobody was shooting a movie."

Students of Charles University being evacuated by police (Getty Images)

Brit dad, daughter and wife fled Prague horror

An unnamed Brit dad has told of the horrors his family saw when the gunman opened fire in Prague.

The family was in the popular Jan Palach Square at the time of the shooting when his daughter, 25, spotted the gunman lurking on the roof of the Charles University Faculty of Arts building.

The Dad said to the Sun: "My daughter said, 'Dad, look up there, there's a guy on the roof'. And all of a sudden it just went mental, it sounded like a load of firecrackers. I would have said about 30 people got shot. There was a guy lying dead on the right hand side of the square. He was shot in the chest."

People, one wrapped in a thermal blanket, walk near the building of Philosophical Faculty of Charles University in downtown Prague (AP)

Shooter had a gun permit, according to Czech police chief

The shooter had a gun permit and owned several weapons, according to Czech Police President Martin Vondrášek.

According to official police statistics, more than 300,000 people have legal permit to own a gun in the country. As of 2022, almost 1 million legally owned weapons were officially registered in the Czech Republic.

The country has relatively liberal gun laws compared to the rest of the European Union.

Paramedics load a stretcher into an ambulance van at the location of the shooting (Getty Images)

Charles University cancels events and tightens security measures

All events have been cancelled at Charles University in Prague today and tomorrow as tighter security measures go into effect following the deadly shooting at its campus.

A statement released by the university said: "We now ask everyone to try to remain calm and composed, and we again extend our condolences to all those whose hearts have been broken by the loss of loved ones.

"We mourn the loss of life of members of our university community, express our deepest condolences to all the bereaved and our thoughts are with all those affected by the tragedy."

Candles were lit in tribute for those who died (AP)

Prague shooter 'connected with two murders last week'

The interior minister also said officers are working on the theory that today's shooter was responsible for the deaths of two people last week in the Klanovicky forest near Prague.

Despite the shooter having no criminal history they think this could be the case, adding that he chose his victims at random.

The horrific shooting has left Europe shocked this evening (twiiter/ x)

Number of victims could have been much higher

The toll of deaths in today's tragedy could have been much higher if it wasn't for the professionalism of the police.

We have been hearing just now at a press conference with Vít Rakušan, the Czech interior minister, that the shooter had a large quantity of ammunition on him.

He 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."

A woman leaves a candle as tribute near the scene of the shooting (MARTIN DIVISEK/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Death toll updated to 14 killed with 10 injured in a serious condition

The minister of the interior is giving an update to the media and has said 14 people were killed. He said 25 are injured and 10 of those are in a serious condition.

What we know so far about the mass shooting in Prague

As a picture of today's tragic event starts to become clearer, here is everything we know so far:

• At about 15:40 local time (14:40 GMT), reports started coming in of a mass shooting in the Czech capital.

• Police then confirmed they were responding to an incident at the faculty of arts of Charles University, in central Prague and said several people had been killed or injured.

• We now know around 15 people, including the shooter, have died and 24 are injured. Authorities warned that the death toll could rise.

• The lone gunman was a student at the university's faculty of arts. He has been named in local media as 24-year-old David Kozak.

• Kozak began shooting on the fourth floor of the building located near the Vltava River in Jan Palach Square and his body was later found by police.

• The suspect's father was found dead earlier today and police believe Kozak killed him and that he had also been planning to kill himself.

• Police say it's thought the shooter was inspired by similar massacres that have taken place abroad, but not "international terror."

• 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, Prague Police Chief Martin Vondrasek said, adding that there was "nothing to suggest that he had an accomplice."

• It's the worst fatal shooting since Czech independence 30 years ago.

• The Czech government planned to meet later this evening for an emergency session to discuss the shooting.

A police officer, manning the cordon in an area near the university in central Prague (AFP via Getty Images)

Dramatic footage shows people leaping to safety

Dramatic footage has shown the moment people are seen leaping from a building ledge, in hope of escaping from the gunman's aim.

New photo of gunman released

A horrifying new photo has shown the gunman toting his large weapon on the roof the university building.

The Gunman is seen with a rifle on the roof of the building

Attack is an 'unprecedentedly insane act'

Vít Rakušan, the Czech interior minister, has called the attack an "unprecedentedly insane act."

He told the media that there was no more danger and expressed his condolences to "all the victims of this unprecedentedly insane act, which the Czech Republic has never experienced in its history".

He continued: "The tragedy is deep, the tragedy will certainly have many other consequences for the atmosphere in the school, for the loved ones, for those who were evacuated from the building, and who witnessed the tragic event."

He also confirmed the attack was not linked to "international terror."

Zelensky sends sends condolences and condemns attack

The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has condemned today's attack.

Gunman wanted to kill himself, says police chief

The gunman “left for Prague saying he wanted to kill himself,” police chief Martin Vondrasek told reporters.

Brit couple's honeymoon horror being told to 'stay down' during gunman's rampage

A newlywed British couple have told how they were screamed at to "stay down" as there was an active shooter in Prague.

Tom Leese, 34, a video producer and his wife Rachael, 31, an account director, who are on their honeymoon in the country, were having a drink in the Slivovitz Museum, close by when they were told to get down by a police officer.

Mr Leese said: "A policeman came in and started shouting loudly in what I assume was Czech. I asked for it in English and he said there was an active shooter and to stay inside and stay down. The staff were very calm, turned all the lights off very quickly and urged us to stay calm, the restaurant was relatively quiet. The policeman left urgently and we stood in the corner of the restaurant."

The couple, from Merstham in Surrey, were kept in the museum for over an hour, hearing sirens outside. Mr Leese added: "Rachael is still in shock. We were meant to be having dinner at the restaurant right by the building tonight and were going to pop in for a drink earlier on, but we crossed the bridge instead."

(PA)

Shooter named in local news

The shooter in Prague, who killed at least 14 people before turning the gun on himself, has been named as David Kozak.

In a press conference, authorities confirmed the suspect was 24 years old and that his father had been found dead earlier today.

David Kozak pictured (CZECH POLICE/UNPIXS)

A chilling image shared on local media, believed to be Kozak, shows a man dressed in black aiming a rifle at people below while standing on top of a faculty building.

'Shooter put hands up and threw weapon down', says witness

Petr Nedoma, director of the Rudolfinum Gallery at a concert hall across Palach Square, told Czech TV he saw the shooter.

He said: "I saw a young person on the gallery who had some weapon in his hand, like and automatic weapon, and shooting toward the Manes Bridge. Repeatedly, with some interruptions, then I saw as he shot, put hands up and threw the weapon down on the street, it lay there on the pedestrian crossing."

Worst deadly shooting in modern Czech history

Today's attack is the worst fatal shooting since Czech independence 30 years ago.

The most recent gun attack was in December 2019 at a hospital in Ostrava, in the north-east, when a man opened fire in a trauma clinic waiting room and killed four men and two women, before turning the gun on himself.

In February 2015 a local man killed eight people after he opened fire in a restaurant in the eastern town of Uhersky Brod.

Shooter's father found dead before mass shooting

Reports are surfacing that the shooter's father was found dead before the mass shooting.

The police say the gunman was a 24-year-old from a village 13 miles outside Prague.

Minister of the Interior Vít Rakušan said at the scene: "I don't want to comment on the shooter's motivation at the moment, we are still mapping the situation."

Police chief speaking at press conference in Prague

Gunman believed to be a student

The gunman was a student at the faculty of arts at Charles University in Prague, the Czech police president has said.

He said they found his "lifeless body" at the faculty of arts, which suggests he may have taken his own life despite earlier language saying he was "eliminated."

The mass shooting is not currently being treated as a terrorist attack, police say.

BREAKING Death toll updated

More sad news just in as at least 15 people have now been killed after a gunman opened fire in Prague.

Prague's mayor says 'our world is changing'

Prague Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda has told broadcasters:

“The thing is, of course, a tragedy, it is a tragedy that occurs in the modern world. We know very well that for a number of years we have been hearing from the United States that there has been an excess of some shooter shooting in a school or on the street or somewhere. We have always thought that this is a matter that does not concern Europe and us, that this is a matter that is also a given in the United States due to the fact that everyone there is armed, etc.

“Now, unfortunately, it turns out that our world is also changing and we have the problem of the individual shooter whose reasons for what he does are not entirely clear. And the worst thing about it is that these are things that cannot be solved preventively."

Were you at the scene? Did you see what happened?

Were you a the scene? Did you see what happened?

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Hungary's prime minister 'shocked by heinous shooting'

Hungary's prime minister Viktor Orban has condemned the shooting.