Student Goes on Shooting Rampage in Czech Republic Killing 14, Injuring 25

On Thursday, a 24-year-old student killed 14 people and injured 25 others at a Prague university in the Czech Republic’s bloodiest shooting in decades, before authorities declared the perpetrator “eliminated.”

The violence in the city’s historic center prompted evacuations, a large police response, and cautions to stay indoors. The shooting occurred at Charles University’s Faculty of Arts, which is located near popular tourist attractions like as the 14th-century Charles Bridge.

“At this time, I can confirm 14 victims of the heinous crime and 25 wounded, 10 seriously,” police chief Martin Vondrasek told reporters following the shooting. He said that all of the victims died inside the structure. According to reports, at least some were the gunman’s classmates. According to the Dutch Foreign Ministry, one of the injured was a Dutch national.

Vondrasek went on to say that the gunman, who was previously unknown to police, had a “huge arsenal of weapons and ammunition” and that prompt police response saved considerably more terrible carnage.

On December 23, the government proclaimed a day of national mourning, with flags flying at half-mast and individuals asked to observe a minute’s silence at noon.

Lists of missing students were published on social media, while those who survived the attack sent messages to their friends and family.

Vondrasek stated that authorities began looking for the individual before the mass shooting because his father was discovered dead in the village of Hostoun, west of Prague. He stated that the gunman “left for Prague saying he wanted to kill himself.” Earlier, police suggested that the gunman had slain his father.

Police searched a Faculty of Arts building where the gunman was due to give a lecture, but he instead went to the faculty’s main building nearby, where he was not found.  “At 1359 GMT, we received the first information about shooting,” Vondrasek told reporters, adding that the fast reaction squad arrived on the scene in 12 minutes.

“At 1420 GMT, the officers on the ground informed us about the gunman’s motionless body,” Vondrasek said, adding that unverified evidence suggested he had committed suicide. He said the gunman was inspired by a “similar case that happened in Russia,” citing a social media investigation.

Police believed the same gunman killed a young man and his two-month-old daughter in a pram on December 15 during a walk in a forest on the eastern outskirts of Prague in the Czech Republic.

The police investigation into the shocking murder in Prague was stalled until evidence discovered in Hostoun tied the gunman to the killing.

He also  stated that no police officers were injured in the incident on Thursday. Police evacuated the building, with evacuees taking sanctuary in a concert hall across the street.

Czech President Petr Pavel offered “deep regret and sincere condolences to the families and relatives of the victims” and stated he was “shocked” by the violence.

According to Prime Minister Petr Fiala, the “lone gunman… wasted many lives, mostly of young people.” “There is no justification for this horrendous act,” he said.

The bloodiest shooting since the Czech Republic gained independence in 1993. Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan stated there was no link between the incident and “international terrorism.” “There has been no other confirmed gunman,” he continued.

Police roped off the area and encouraged residents to remain at home. According to Prague’s emergency services, “a large number of ambulance units” were deployed at the faculty.

Though major gun violence is uncommon in the Czech Republic, numerous incidents have shaken the country in recent years.

In 2015, a 63-year-old man killed seven men and a woman before shooting himself in a café in the southern town of Uhersky Brod. In 2019, a man murdered six people in a hospital waiting area in the eastern city of Ostrava, with another woman dying days later. Three hours after the attack, the man shot himself.