Prague university shooting: Police seek motive after 14 killed, dozens injured

Prague mass shooting bodycam video released

Czech officials now say 14 people were killed when a gunman opened fire Thursday at Charles University in Prague., that number is expected to rise as some of the 25 wounded are still in critical condition. They also say the 24-year-old shooter was a student and was 'neutralized' at the scene. Police say he also shot and killed his father earlier in the day. He also the suspect in a shooting earlier this month where a man and his 2-month-old daughter were killed.

PRAGUE - Czech police investigated Friday why a student went on a dayslong violent rampage culminating in a shooting at the university he attended in Prague that left 14 dead and dozens wounded.

Investigators believe the gunman in the mass shooting Thursday in a philosophy department building at Charles University also killed his own father earlier in the day, and another man and a baby last week.

Residents meanwhile were grappling with the nation's worst mass shooting in the heart of the historic capital city. Political leaders, students, friends of the victims and others came together to light candles during an impromptu vigil for the victims.

"A few of my friends study at the philosophy faculty at Charles University," said Kristof Unger, a student who attended the vigil. "They have been really traumatized by the shooting there and I just wanted to make them feel a little bit better."

A woman mourns as people gather to pay their respects in front of the Charles University building following a mass shooting yesterday, on December 22, 2023 in Prague, Czech Republic. (Photo by Gabriel Kuchta/Getty Images)

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Robert Hanus, another of the vigil's attendees, said everyone should come together to take a stand against the attack. "This shouldn't be normalized," he said.

The university’s rector, Milena Kralickova, was also among the throngs lighting candles. "The academic community is shaken, deeply shaken," she said.

The Czech government declared Saturday a national day of mourning.

Petr Matejcek, the director of the police regional headquarters in Prague, said the gunman, whose name has not been released, killed himself on the balcony of the university building as officers closed in. Police have not released the gunman's name, but said they believe he was Czech.

Authorities said Friday that 13 people died at the scene in the Faculty of Arts and one died later in a hospital. A total of 25 people were wounded, including three foreign nationals — two from the United Arab Emirates and one from the Netherlands. Authorities warned that the death toll could rise.

Prague shooting: Charles University gunman suspected in more murders | LiveNOW from FOX

A shooting at Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic has left at least 15 people dead and around two dozen injured, officials say. The gunman is suspected of killing his own father and may be linked to two other murders last week.

Interior Minister Vit Rakusan said police in Prague worked overnight and that all 14 who died have been identified. Authorities did not release any names, but the Institute of Music Sciences confirmed that its head, Lenka Hlávková, was among the dead.

Police have released no details about a possible motive for the shooting. The interior minister said Thursday that investigators didn’t suspect a link to any extremist ideology or groups. Officials said they believed the gunman acted alone. He has no criminal record.

Prague Police Chief Martin Vondrasek said investigators believe the man killed his father earlier on Thursday in his hometown of Hostoun, just west of Prague. He said the gunman was also suspected in the killing of a man and his 2-month-old daughter on Dec. 15 on the outskirts of the capital.

Police said the shooter legally owned several guns and that he was heavily armed during the attack.

Previously, the nation’s worst mass shooting was in 2015, when a gunman opened fire in the southeastern town of Uhersky Brod, killing eight before fatally shooting himself.

Police officer walks around the building of Philosophical Faculty of Charles University where a mass shooting took place on December 22, 2023 in Prague, Czech Republic. (Photo by Gabriel Kuchta/Getty Images)

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Charles University was established in 1348 and the Faculty of Arts is one of its oldest educational facilities. The building where the shooting took place is located near the Vltava River in Jan Palach Square, a busy tourist area in Prague’s Old Town. It is just a few minutes’ walk from the picturesque Old Town Square, a major tourist attraction where a popular Christmas market attracts thousands of visitors.

Police said Friday they have boosted security at schools and other "soft targets" — usually public facilities that are difficult to secure — in a preventive measure until at least Jan 1. University rectors also said they were working with law enforcement on increasing campus security.

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AP video journalists Fanny Brodersen and Hakan Kaplan in Prague contributed.