Police stand guard after a shooting at Charles University’s buildings in Prague.
Dramatic videos have appeared on social media that show people leaping from the ledge of a building to escape a gunman in Prague on Thursday. Local authorities said that the incident took place at Charles University, and is not being treated as a terrorist incident. The violence in the city’s historic centre sparked evacuations, a massive response by heavily armed police and warnings for people to stay indoors. Fourteen people were killed and 25 others injured in Czech Republic’s worst shooting in decades.
Also Read | David Kozak, Prague University Shooter Who Killed 14, Was “Excellent Student”
Some people were seen cowering on the ledge of the university as the gunman started spraying bullets on those present in the building.
Then, to escape, they jumped from the ledges on to the floor below and later went safely downstairs and were rescued by the police.
[UPDATE] pic.twitter.com/SlWbvw8690
— BreakingItalyNews (@BreakingItalyNe) December 21, 2023
Authorities said the gunman – a 24-year-old student at the Faculty of Arts at Charles University in Prague – had been “eliminated”.
His body was found in the university’s philosophy building.
Police said the gunman’s father was also found dead earlier on Thursday.
The government declared a day of national mourning on December 23, with flags on official buildings to be flown at half-mast and people asked to observe a minute’s silence at noon.
Lists of missing students were shared on social media while those safe from the shooting posted messages to inform their friends and relatives.
Police chief Martin Vondrasek told reporters that the gunman “left for Prague saying he wanted to kill himself”. Police also suggested that he had killed his father.
Citing a probe into social media, Mr Vondrasek said the gunman was inspired by a “similar case that happened in Russia”, without going into details.
Mr Vondrasek also said that police believed the same gunman had also killed a young man and his two-month-old daughter in a pram during a walk in a forest on the eastern outskirts of Prague on December 15.
Czech President Petr Pavel said he was “shocked” by the violence and expressed “deep regret and sincere condolences to the families and relatives of the victims”.