Police say more than 15 people have been killed and dozens injured in shootings at a university in central Prague. Police Chief Martin Vondrasek said the gunman was also dead.
That happened:
That happened
The shooting took place at the Philosophy Faculty of Charles University on Jan Palach Square. Within a short time a large police force arrived, including special units. Jan Palach Square is located just a few hundred meters away from the famous Charles Bridge, the city’s landmark on the Vltava River.
The police called on people to avoid the area and cordoned off the area. Residents are not allowed to leave the house. Photos showed students leaving the university building with their arms raised. According to a report from television channel Nova, the shooter was on the roof of the faculty building. An explosion was also heard.
Students and employees of the university say on social media that they have barricaded themselves in lecture halls and offices. People must be removed from the building one by one. The rescue service sent several ambulances, emergency doctors and a large ambulance to the scene.
On X, a user shared a photo of a barricaded door to a classroom in the building. He was able to barricade himself inside before the gunman tried to open the door.
Currently I am stuck in my classroom in Prague. The shooter is dead, but we’re waiting for an evacuation. Praying to get out alive.
Locked the door before the shooter tried to open it. Damn bright. pic.twitter.com/wYyhOe5U6p
— Jakob Weizman (@jakobweizman) December 21, 2023
Here’s what we know about the perpetrator
Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan said on CT public television that there is no evidence of a second perpetrator or of a terrorist background. It was a lone gunman, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said.
According to the Czech daily Lidovky, which cited police, police were apparently on the attacker’s trail even before his bloody act.
Police believe the alleged perpetrator is David K., a 24-year-old university history student who had recently murdered his father in his apartment in the nearby village of Kladensko and was wanted for that reason.
A little later, at 12.45 p.m., the officers received a message that the man wanted to leave the village for Prague to take his own life. They also classified him as dangerous. “We found out he was going to give a speech at 2 p.m. “So we immediately came to Celetná Street, to the building of the Faculty of Arts, where we carried out an evacuation,” “lidovyk” quotes the local police chief.
The possible motive
According to the police, K. allegedly modeled his alleged crime at Charles University on a similar crime abroad. Officials provided no further information. However, a Telegram channel under the name of the suspected shooter apparently gives more information: according to this, K. was based on Alina A. – a 14-year-old eighth grader from Russia. In early December, she shot two of her classmates and injured several others at a school in Bryansk before killing herself.
«Let me introduce myself, my name is David. I want to shoot at school and possibly commit suicide,” can be read in Russian on the suspected perpetrator’s Telegram channel shortly after A.’s crime in Bryansk. A. “helped him enormously” with his decision, according to the author of the message. “I hate the world and want to leave as much pain as possible,” he said a few days later. His last message was from Tuesday. “I have a ringing in my ears… like some kind of damn firefly.” I wanted to rip my ears out,” he writes.
The reactions
Czech President Petr Pavel expressed his condolences to the families of the dead. He thanked the citizens of the short message service X on Thursday for following the instructions of the security forces. As the head of state announced, Pavel has cut short his current visit to France to return early to the Czech Republic.
Prime Minister Fiala canceled a working visit to Moravia. “Due to the tragic events, I have canceled my work program in Olomouc and am returning to Prague,” the liberal-conservative politician said. The cabinet would meet for an emergency meeting late in the evening.
The mayor of Prague, Bohuslav Svoboda, was shocked. “This is a tragedy,” he told public television CT. “The worst part is that these things cannot be prevented.” Many people think that something like this can only happen in the US because many people there are armed. It turns out that this is not the case.
French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X that the news of the fatal shots had deeply shocked him. Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser also emphasized about X: “All our solidarity and compassion go out to our Czech neighbors and friends in this difficult hour.” Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck (Greens) said: “I am shocked and my thoughts are with our neighbours, with the victims and their relatives.”
Chancellor Olaf Scholz was deeply shocked by the terrible news from Prague. “Our thoughts are with the families and friends of the victims, our condolences go out to our Czech friends,” the SPD politician wrote on the short message service X.
It is believed to be the worst weapons attack in the history of the Czech Republic, which has been independent since 1993.
(lst/sda/t-online)
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
