Prague gunman shot himself on rooftop, say police

PRAGUE — A mass shooting in downtown Prague has left 13 people dead – including the gunman – and at least 25 injured.

The individual responsible for the shooting is dead, according to Czech police.

He was a 24-year-old student in the faculty of arts at Charles University, where the killing spree took place, they said.

Authorities have not named or provided specific details about the victims but said that three of those injured were foreign nationals – two from Saudi Arabia and one from the Netherlands.

Interior Minister Vit Rakusan said on the radio on Friday that police have identified 13 victims.

All the victims were killed inside the university and some were classmates of the gunman.

The shooter, partially identified as David K, died by suicide after the shooting, said the police on Friday.

Unknown to authorities, he had a “huge arsenal of weapons and ammunition” and that rapid police action had prevented further carnage, detailed police chief Martin Vondrasek.

Police said the 24-year-old had been inspired by “a similar terrible event abroad.”

They are now working to find a motive behind what is the country’s worst mass shooting, though officers have said they do not believe it was an act of terrorism.

Vondrasek said police were already searching for the 24-year-old before the start of the shooting after his father was found dead in the village of Hostoun, west of the capital. It’s unclear whether the student killed him.

David K. had “left for Prague saying he wanted to kill himself,” the chief of police said.

Czech President Petr Pavel said the killings should not be politicised or fuel misinformation. He called for national unity, revealing his “helpless anger” towards the incident.

Police said there’s no longer any danger, though they will continue to monitor vulnerable locations on Friday, including schools. A national day of morning is planned for Saturday.

The shooting began at around 15:00 local time on Thursday. Twenty minutes later, police found the shooter dead.

The gunman reportedly opened fire in the university’s corridors and classrooms, seemingly killing people at random.

Police officers, already on the scene when the shooting started, sealed off the area and advised people to leave the surrounding streets and stay indoors while the incident unfolded.

Prague Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda confirmed the university’s philosophy department had been evacuated.

Officers first searched a building at the Faculty of Arts, where the gunman was supposed to be attending class. They then went to the main building, where the shooting took place.

The attacker was on the roof when police responded to the shooting. He then shot himself after seeing that officers were surrounding him, reportedly falling off the roof.

According to reports, police had information that an attack at the school was imminent.

Images purportedly of the shooter have been shared on social media. They show a man in black perched on a balcony and holding a rifle with a scope. One student shared an image of the door of his classroom barricaded to keep the shooter out.

Vondrasek said police believe the shooter was inspired by a “similar case in Russia.”

He also reported that police suspected the same gunman of killing a young man and his two-month-old daughter in a pram during a walk in a forest in Prague’s eastern suburbs on 15 December.

Currently stuck inside my classroom in Prague. Shooter is dead, but we are waiting to be evacuated. Praying to make it out alive.

Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan assured the public that no additional assailant was present at the scene and urged cooperation with the ongoing police investigation.

The square remains cordoned off, and the police have advised citizens to follow safety measures.

Of the 25 people who sustained injuries during the attack nine are in a critical condition.

Pavel Nedoma, the director of the Rudolfinum Gallery also situated in the square, reported witnessing the assailant firing shots from a window towards the nearby Manes bridge spanning the Vltava River.

In response to the incident, Prime Minister Petr Fiala promptly cancelled his scheduled events and is en route to Prague, expressing his commitment to addressing the aftermath of the tragedy. — Euronews