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.
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.
The university’s rector, Milena Kralickova, was also among the throngs lighting candles. “The academic community is shaken, deeply shaken,” she said.
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.
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.
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.
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)
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.
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AP video journalists Fanny Brodersen and Hakan Kaplan in Prague contributed.
