2023-12-24 13:03:42
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Shots are fired at a university in Prague. The police speak of 15 dead and dozens injured. The day following the terrible crime, more details come to light.
- Shots at the university in Prague claimed 14 lives. Three of them came from abroad.
- The perpetrator was probably a 24-year-old gun enthusiast. He previously announced his act on Telegram.
- Police report shots fired at Charles University on Jan Palach Square in Prague.
Update from December 23rd, 9:36 a.m.: After the shooting at Charles University in Prague, national mourning was declared in the Czech Republic. Across the country, flags on public buildings will be flown at half-mast and bells will ring at midday.
All 14 victims have already been identified, police said late Friday evening. It is also confirmed that the shooter took his own life following the crime. The search for his motive continues.
Shootings at the university in Prague spark horror in Germany and the USA
Update from Friday, December 22nd, 4:22 p.m.: Prague is in shock following the bloody act. An improvised memorial with hundreds of candles was created in front of the university near Prague’s famous Charles Bridge, where Prime Minister Fiala also laid flowers. In response to the bloody crime, police guarded several locations on Friday, including several schools. This precautionary measure is “a signal that we are there,” explained the police.
The act caused horror beyond the country’s borders. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) also expressed their condolences. Expressions of grief also came from the White House in Washington, the Elysée Palace in Paris and from EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
It took police twelve minutes to get to the scene in Prague
Update from Friday, December 22nd, 3:28 p.m.: New details regarding the crime become known. Police chief Martin Vondrasek said, referring to research in online networks, that the perpetrator was inspired by a “similar case” in Russia this fall. The official did not provide any further information. According to Vondrasek, the officers had already started searching for the 24-year-old following the man’s father was found dead in the town of Hostoun, west of Prague.
The police searched the main building of the Faculty of Arts in the belief that they would find the 24-year-old giving a lecture there. However, the shooter entered another faculty building and was not found in time. The first information regarding shots was finally received around 3 p.m. According to Vondrasek, the rapid reaction force was on site within twelve minutes. The shooter’s body was found around 3:20 p.m.
The Prague shooter was a gun nut – the crime was said to have been planned
Update from Friday, December 22nd, 3:00 p.m.: The alleged perpetrator in Prague was probably a gun nut. He is said to have legally owned eight firearms, according to police reports. “What I saw were full ammunition magazines lying in the hallway,” said Petr Matějček, the head of the Prague police, that morning. The bloody act is said to have been well planned. It is now known that the suspected shooter came from the suburb of Hostoun, west of Prague.
Update from Friday, December 22nd, 2:21 p.m.: The Czech Republic is in mourning following the massacre at Charles University in Prague shortly before Christmas. “It’s a shock – none of us would have expected something like this to happen,” said a hospital spokeswoman on behalf of many. The government declared one-day national mourning this Saturday. Flags should fly at half-mast and the fairy lights on the Christmas tree in Prague’s Old Town Square should go out. A funeral service is also planned in Prague’s St. Vitus Cathedral.
Frankfurt am Main sent its condolences to its sister city Prague following the bloody crime. City council leader Hilime Arslaner (Greens) and mayor Mike Josef (SPD) expressed their sincere condolences in a letter to Prague mayor Bohuslav Svoboda on Friday. “We feel connected to you in your pain and sadness,” the letter says, among other things. Frankfurt has been twinned with the Czech capital since May 1990.
Shooting spree in Prague: Videos from the crime scene show what happened
Update from Friday, December 22nd, 1:43 p.m.: More and more details regarding the rampage are becoming known. There are videos from the crime scene and students and lecturers also comment on their experiences.
It is also now clear how the perpetrator died. Police have since confirmed that he took his own life following his crime. Otherwise, many questions surrounding the shooter remain unanswered. Among other things, whether he might be responsible for a double murder last week.
Protect what student at Charles University in Prague
Update from Friday, December 22nd, 11:09 a.m.: The 24-year-old gunman did not survive his rampage at Charles University in Prague. It is not yet clear whether he took his own life following his crime or was shot by the police. Little else is known regarding the man, who was also a student at the university.
Update from Friday, December 22nd, 9:30 a.m.: 13 of the 14 victims have now been identified. According to a statement by Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan, three foreigners were among the dead. These are two people from the United Arab Emirates and a Dutch citizen. The Foreign Ministry is involved, said Rakusan. He also stated that the shooter owned his weapon legally and had no criminal record.
The condition of the injured is according to a report by the Czech television channel CT stable. The broadcaster relies on information from the hospitals where the injured are being treated.
After the shooting at Charles University in Prague, many expressed their sadness by lighting candles in front of the Faculty of Arts building. © Denes Erdos/dpa
Update from Friday, December 22nd, 8:45 a.m.: The police are currently investigating the man’s motive for firing the shots at Prague University. A criminal investigation has been initiated, said the responsible public prosecutor Lenka Bradacova. However, Prime Minister Petr Fiala emphasized that there was no indication that the act had a terrorist background.
The alleged perpetrator is now also linked to other crimes. Before the university shooting, he may have killed his father in his house in the municipality of Hostoun, west of Prague. Police Chief Martin Vondrasek also said police suspect the 24-year-old was also responsible for a double murder that happened last week. A father and his infant daughter were shot dead in a forest on the outskirts of Prague.
It is also unclear whether the 24-year-old gunman killed himself following the attack at the university or was shot by the police. An autopsy should clarify things.
Update, Thursday, December 21st, 9:30 p.m.: According to information from focus.de be 24 years old. He was apparently noted as a lover of weapons and was considered an introvert. According to the information, at 2 p.m. on Thursday the student had a scheduled lecture before he caused the bloodbath.
The perpetrator apparently announced his crime online on Telegram a few days in advance. He is said to have made reference to a 14-year-old girl who shot two people at a school in Bryansk, Russia, on December 9th.
Update, Thursday, December 21st, 6:58 p.m.: According to the latest information from the police, at least fifteen people died following the shooting at the university in Prague, as police chief Martin Vondrasek said on Thursday. In addition, at least 24 people were injured, nine of them seriously to life-threatening.
The perpetrator is said to be a student who is said to have previously murdered his father and was therefore wanted by the police. According to local media reports, he is said to have committed the crime alone.
Update, Thursday, December 21st, 5:05 p.m.: According to rescue workers, ten people were killed in the gun attack at a university in Prague. The shooter injured around three dozen other people before he was killed by police, the Prague rescue service said. “At the moment there are eleven dead at the scene, including the shooter,” rescue service spokeswoman Jana Postova told Czech television.
Update, Thursday, December 21st, 4:51 p.m.: Several people were killed and dozens injured in shootings at the renowned Charles University in downtown Prague. The shooter was rendered harmless, the Czech police said. Exact figures were not yet available.
According to a report by the TV station Nova, the shooter is said to have been on the roof of the faculty building. An explosion was also heard.
There was initially no further information regarding the suspected shooter or a possible motive. Students and staff at the university said on social media that they had barricaded themselves in lecture halls and offices. People should now be brought out of the building one by one. Photos showed students leaving the university building with their arms raised. The rescue service sent several ambulances, emergency doctors and a large ambulance to the scene.
Shots were fired at a university in Prague. The police speak of dead and injured people. © MICHAL CIZEK/AFP
Update from Thursday, December 21st, 4:17 p.m.: Several people were killed in a gun attack in a university building in the center of Prague. The shooter had been “deactivated,” the police in the Czech capital said on Thursday on the online service X (formerly Twitter). Dozens of people were injured. The building is currently being evacuated.
First report from Thursday, December 21st:
Original message from Thursday, December 21st, 4 p.m.: Prague – In Prague, shots were said to have been fired at a university in the city center. There were dead and injured, the police said on Thursday (December 21), according to the CTK agency. According to initial information, the incident occurred at the Faculty of Philosophy at Charles University on Jan Palach Square in the Czech capital. Humanities are taught there.
The police are on site with a large contingent. She called on people to avoid the area. Residents should not go out of the house. The police announced on the online service X (formerly Twitter) that the operation was ongoing. A video shows police cars apparently cordoning off an area in the city center.
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