Tearful mourners have left a sea of candles to grieve for 14 victims who were killed on Friday in a student’s gun attack at a Prague University.
Czech police investigated are currently investigating why a student went on a dayslong violent rampage culminating in a shooting at the university he attended in Prague.
Investigators believe the gunman 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.
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.
The gunman, whose name has not been disclosed, killed himself on the balcony of the university building as cops closed in, according to Petr Matejcek, the director of the police regional headquarters in Prague.
The gunman’s identity has not been published, although police suspect he is Czech.
According to authorities, 13 individuals died at the scene in the Faculty of Arts, while one died later in a hospital. Twenty-five individuals were injured, including three foreign nationals, two from the UAE and one from the Netherlands. Authorities have cautioned that the death toll could increase further.
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 as he had no criminal record.
Police said the shooter legally owned several guns and that he was heavily armed during the attack.
Prior to this time, 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.
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.
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.
