In a shooting incident, Gunman kills 15 people and injures 24 others in Prague University
A tragic incident unfolded on Thursday at a Prague university where a gunman took the lives of at least 15 individuals and left at least 24 others injured in a shooting incident. The gunman was neutralized afterwards as reported by the police and emergency services. This is the deadliest mass shooting incident that has ever happened in the history of the Czech Republic.
The shooting incident occurred at the faculty of arts building at Charles University’s Jan Palach Square around 3 p.m. (1400 GMT). The assailant, identified as a student at the faculty, was later “eliminated” by the authorities. The police informed that the father of the shooter, a student of the faculty was found dead earlier on Thursday.
Addressing the grim situation, Prague Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda expressed disbelief, stating, “We always thought that this was a thing that did not concern us. Now it turns out that, unfortunately, our world is also changing, and the problem of the individual shooter is emerging here as well,” during an interview with Czech Television.
Petr Nedoma, the director of the Rudolfinum Gallery located across Palach Square, recounted witnessing the incident. “I saw a young person in the gallery who had some weapon in his hand, like an automatic weapon, and shooting toward the Manes Bridge. Repeatedly, with some interruptions, then I saw as he shot, put hands up and threw the weapon down on the street; it lay there on the pedestrian crossing,” he said.
The police sealed off the square and the surrounding area, a busy part of town that leads tourists to Old Town Square. Live broadcasts by Czech TV showed a significant presence of ambulances and police cars with flashing lights, along with the sound of sirens, after the shooting incident
Witnesses recounted harrowing experiences, with one person stating that they heard the shots upon getting off at a tram stop near the school. Klara, a student who was evacuated from the building, described the scene as “terribly scary” and mentioned the presence of armed police instructing them to run outside.
An email was sent to staff and students instructing them to stay in their current locations, lock doors, and barricade entrances aft the shooting incident. Some students were seen taking refuge on a building ledge, as depicted in a photo shared by one witness.
Prime Minister Petr Fiala altered his plans, canceling a trip to the east of the country to head to Prague and address the situation.
