At least 15 people including the shooter were killed and 30 others injured in a shooting incident on Thursday, December 21, 2023, at a university in the Czech Republic’s capital, Prague.
The situation developed at the Faculty of Arts building at Charles University in central Prague and resulted in Czech police deployment to the school which is located in the historic Jan Palach Square.
The shooter involved in the incident was identified as David Kozák, 24. He was a student at the university who had gone on a rant about killing his father before the onslaught, and was reported to have taken his own life by jumping off the roof of a building after he had opened fire on an unsuspecting crowd.
The Police Chief, Martin Vondrasek, received information earlier in the day that the shooter, who was from the Kladno region outside Prague, might be on his way to the capital with the intention of ending his own life. Soon after, the shooter’s father was discovered dead.
Details about the victims and the exact circumstances of the shooting were not immediately clear, with police and emergency services focusing on managing the crisis and providing aid to those affected.
Interior Minister Vit Rakusan, in his address to Czech public television, confirmed the death of the shooter and reassured the public that no other shooter was present at the scene, mitigating concerns about any further immediate danger. Nonetheless, Rakusan emphasized the importance of cooperating with law enforcement officers during this time.
The police initiated an evacuation of the entire building and sealed off Jan Palach Square, urging people to vacate the surrounding streets and remain indoors. The Philosophical Faculty of Charles University, located at the square, was evacuated as part of the emergency response.
Jana Postova, a spokesperson for Prague’s rescue service, acknowledged that numerous individuals were injured in the incident.
Prime Minister Petr Fiala has decided to cancel his journey to the eastern part of the country. He stated this on X and is currently heading towards Prague.
Instances of gun-related crimes are not common in the Czech Republic. According to the police, in December 2019, a 42-year-old assailant shot and killed six individuals in a hospital waiting room in Ostrava, a city in eastern Czech Republic, before escaping and subsequently taking his own life.
Czech Foreign Affairs Minister Jan Lipavský expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and his thoughts with the injured and all those impacted by this distressing event.
