At least 14 people died and 25 others were injured in a shooting at Charles University by a 24-year-old history student in Prague on Thursday. The perpetrator of the killing was found dead at the scene by police.
“There is no indication that this crime is linked to international terrorism,” Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakušan quickly declared.
Earlier that day, the shooter’s father was found dead at his home in the village of Hostoun, about 20 kilometers west of the university. The young man, “left for Prague saying he wanted to commit suicide,” was therefore already wanted, said Czech police chief Martin Vondrášek on Thursday.
PHOTO PETR DAVID JOSEK, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Czech police chief Martin Vondrášek
The shooter was also suspected of killing another man and his two-month-old daughter on December 15 in Prague, Vondrášek also said. The chief described the shooter as an excellent student with no criminal record, but did not provide further information.
The murderer opened fire in the Faculty of Arts, in the heart of the old town, near popular tourist attractions like the Astronomical Clock and Charles Bridge. He was found dead in another building.
PHOTO PETR DAVID JOSEK, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Police officers on a balcony of the Faculty of Arts at Charles University
Among the 25 injured, 10 were seriously injured, police said.
Police arrived on the scene 12 minutes after receiving the first reports of the shooting, and the killer’s body was found less than 10 minutes later, Vondrášek said.
The shooter suffered “significant injuries,” according to the police chief, who would not confirm whether he committed suicide or was shot during an exchange of gunfire with officers, adding that There was “nothing to suggest he had an accomplice”.
Possibly inspired by a similar case
Ivo Havranek, a diving instructor, testified to the Associated Press that he was near the building when he heard a gunshot, but didn’t really believe that was what he heard. heard.
PHOTO DAVID W CERNY, REUTERS
A vast security perimeter has been set up.
It wasn’t until I saw the riot police fully equipped with bulletproof vests and shields that I felt like I was in a movie. But it was obvious that no one was making a movie.
Ivo Havranek, witness to the shooting
The arts faculty was evacuated and a security perimeter was established around Jan-Palach Square.
The murderer could have been inspired by a “similar case which occurred in Russia in the fall”, said the police chief, citing an investigation on social networks.
PHOTO PETR DAVID JOSEK, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Survivors remained near Charles University late Thursday.
The killer was named David K., said a police source cited by the New York Times.
This “unprecedented situation” resulted in “not only injuries, but also deaths,” Charles University lamented on Facebook.
The University has canceled all gatherings of more than 20 people planned within its walls until this Friday inclusive and opened a space in front of the rector’s building for “all those looking for a place of remembrance and mutual support”.
It was the largest mass shooting the Czech Republic has seen since it became an independent state in 1993.
PHOTO DAVID W CERNY, REUTERS
Candles and flowers were left in front of Charles University following the tragedy.
From Paris, where he was ending a two-day visit, Czech President Petr Pavel said he was “shocked by these events”.
“I would like to thank you for the condolences and support expressed,” Prime Minister Petr Fiala stressed on X. “This is very important for us in these difficult times, and we appreciate it very much. »
We always thought that such a thing did not concern us. Unfortunately, we now see that our world is changing and the individual shooter is an emerging problem here too.
Bohuslav Svoboda, mayor of Prague, in interview with local media cited by the BBC
No Canadian casualties reported
“We have not received any reports of any Canadian citizens affected, nor have any inquiries been received from concerned Canadian citizens,” Global Affairs Canada said by email Thursday afternoon.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was “dismayed by the tragic news from Prague”.
“To our Czech friends: Canada cries with you,” he declared on the X network.
Canada’s Ambassador to Prague, Emily McLaughlin, said “ deeply saddened by the tragic events in #Prague.”
Although mass killings are unusual in this central European country, recent events have left their mark.
In 2019, a man killed six people in the waiting room of a hospital in Ostrava, in the east of the country.
In 2015, a murderer shot dead eight people in a restaurant in Uherský Brod, in the southeast of the country.
Charles University has created an online fund to help victims. By the end of the day Thursday, he had already raised more than $137,000 Canadian from some 2,420 donors.
With Agence France-Presse, the Associated Press and the New York Times