At least 10 people were killed and several others injured in a horrific shooting incident at Charles University in Czech Republic capital Prague on 21st December. Czech police said that the shooter was also shot dead, while around 30 persons were injured.
Police said that the shooting took place at a school in Jan Palach Square, and police forces were deployed in the area. The philosophical faculty of Charles University and the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design are located in that location.
BREAKING: Shooting with multiple fatalities at Charles University's Faculty of Arts in Prague pic.twitter.com/Rs0u9RHsXi
— BNO News (@BNONews) December 21, 2023
Police said that the spot has been sealed, and urged people to leave the nearby areas and stay indoors. Several police officers were also injured in the gunfight with the shooter before the attacker allegedly killed himself. The shooter has been named David Kozak by local media.
24 years old David Kozak was a student at the philosophy faculty of Charles University.
BREAKING:
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) December 21, 2023
Reports of many killed in a mass-shooting at the Charles University of Prague, Czechia.
The pictures below show the shooter of the roof of the building and students trying to hide from him on a ledge high up in the air. pic.twitter.com/9K0ibvudGP
Posting on X, Czech police said that shortly after 3 p.m. (1400 GMT) it was responding to a school shooting at Prague’s Jan Palach Square, before reporting the shooter was “eliminated”.
The police posted several follow-up tweets, and said in one tweet: “The shooter has been eliminated !!! The entire building is currently being evacuated and there are several dead and dozens of injured.”
Střelec byl eliminován !!! Celá budova je v současné chvíli evakuována a na místě je několik mrtvých a desítky raněných.
— Policie ČR (@PolicieCZ) December 21, 2023
The police said that the entire building was being evacuated, and there were several deaths and tens of injuries, without giving numbers.
Interior Minister Vit Rakusan said, “According to preliminary information, the shooter himself should be dead, there are dead and wounded on site, I will not speculate now about the final number.”
Prime Minister Petr Fiala cancelled his trip to the east of the country and was returning to Prague, he said on X. “Due to the tragic events at the Faculty of Philosophy in Prague, I have cancelled the work program in Olomouc and am going back to Prague,” he tweeted.
Although owning firearms in Czech Republic is relatively easier compared to other EU countries, gun crime is relatively rare in the country.
