Watch: Panicked Students Caught Huddling on Ledge During Deadly Prague University Shooting

In one of the worst shootings in the Czech Republic in decades, a 24-year-old student on Thursday killed 14 people and wounded 25 at a Prague university, before the attacker was “eliminated”. The mass shooting in the city’s historic centre sparked evacuations and a huge response by heavily armed police.

The shooting erupted at the Charles University’s Faculty of Arts, which sits near major tourist sites like the 14th-century Charles Bridge. All the victims were killed inside the building, some of whom were the gunman’s fellow students. Previously unknown to the police, the gunman had a “huge arsenal of weapons and ammunition” and that quick police action prevented far more serious carnage. Fearing for their lives, some of the students were forced to hide themselves at the ledge of the university building during the shooting.

‘He wanted to kill himself’

Police chief Martin Vondrasek told reporters in the evening that 14 people had died and 25 were injured, after earlier reporting that 15 had died. He said that police started a search for the man before the mass shooting as his father had been found dead in the village of Hostoun west of Prague. The gunman “left for Prague saying he wanted to kill himself”, Vondrasek said. Police suggested earlier the gunman had killed his father. Police searched a Faculty of Arts building where the gunman was expected to show up for a lecture, but he went to the faculty’s main building nearby and they did not find him.

“At 1359 GMT, we received the first information about shooting,” Vondrasek told reporters, adding the rapid response unit was on the scene within 12 minutes. “At 1420 GMT, the officers in action told us about the gunman’s motionless body,” Vondrasek said, adding unconfirmed information showed he had killed himself. Vondrasek said no police officer was wounded in Thursday’s action. Police evacuated the building, using a concert hall across the street as a temporary refuge for the evacuees.

National mourning

The Czech 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. Agency reports said that the lists of missing students were shared on social media while those safe from the shooting posted messages to inform their friends and relatives.

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”. Prime Minister Petr Fiala said the “lone gunman… wasted many lives of mostly young people”.

“There is no justification for this horrendous act,” he added. The worst shooting since the Czech Republic emerged as an independent state in 1993 also prompted messages of support from across the world. Interior Minister Vit Rakusan said there was no link between the shooting and “international terrorism”. He added that “no other gunman has been confirmed”.

(With agency inputs)