">

Day of mourning after gunmen kills 14 in Prague

AMEN

Czech police are working to uncover the motive behind the country’s worst-ever mass shooting, which saw a student open fire at a university in central Prague, killing 14 and wounding 25 others.

Czech President Petr Pavel has appealed for unity and said the killings should not be used to launch political attacks or spread misinformation.

The victims, who have not yet been named, include the gunman’s father.

">

Saturday has been declared a national day of mourning.

Mr Pavel expressed his “great sadness” and “helpless anger at the totally unnecessary” loss of life.

The shooting began at around 15:00 local time (14:00 GMT) on Thursday at the Faculty of Arts building of Charles University in the centre of the Czech capital.

The gunman opened fire in the corridors and classrooms of the building, apparently killing at random, while staff and students used furniture to barricade themselves into rooms.

Dramatic footage shared on social media shows people jumping to safety from an exterior ledge several storeys up. Gunshots can also be heard.

Police say the gunman was a 24-year-old student at the university and had no prior criminal record, though they add that a “huge arsenal of weapons and ammunition” was found.

He has been named by local media as David Kozak.

Before the shooting, police had received a report that the suspect was believed to be heading to Prague from a nearby town with the intention of killing himself.

Police evacuated a different university building where the gunman had been expected to attend a lecture, but a short time later were called to the faculty’s main building nearby.

The gunman, who police said had been “eliminated”, is thought to have killed his father at a separate location.

Police said they had unconfirmed information from a social media account that the attack had been inspired by a similar incident in Russia, though did not provide further details.

They said the gunman was also suspected in the killing of a young man and his two-month-old daughter who were found dead in a forest on the outskirts of Prague on 15 December.

Of the 25 people wounded in the shooting, 10 were injured seriously, police said, adding that no officers had been hurt.

In a statement, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said: “We are all shocked by this horrendous act.

“It is hard to find the words to express condemnation on the one hand and, on the other, the pain and sorrow that our entire society is feeling in these days before Christmas.”

He said Saturday would be a day of mourning, adding that flags would be flown at half-mast on all public buildings and that a minute’s silence would be observed at midday.

Many sports and cultural events have been called off.

On Thursday evening, people lit candles and left flowers near the scene of the shooting.

The attack had one of the largest death tolls of any mass shooting by a lone gunman in Europe this century:

Founded in 1347, Charles University is the oldest and largest university in the Czech Republic and one of the oldest such institutions in Europe.

Source: BBC

Exit mobile version