PRAGUE, Dec. 22 :
At least 14 people were killed in a university shooting in the Czech capital Prague on Thursday, according to local police. Speaking at a press briefing in the evening, Czech Police President Martin Vondrasek said that 14 people died and 25 were injured, including 10 in serious conditions, in the shooting at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University in the afternoon.
He said there was a huge arsenal of weapons and ammunition inside the faculty building. “Had it not been for the quick intervention of the police, there would have been many more victims.” Earlier, Vondrasek told journalists that more than 15 people lost their lives and at least 24 others were injured. Police said on social media X that they are still investigating the identity of the victims, one of whom is a foreigner. The assailant has been eliminated.
According to the Czech News Agency (CTK), local police were informed that a young man from Hostoun in the Central Bohemia Region was to leave for Prague, saying he wanted to take his own life. About 25 minutes later, the young man’s father was found dead in Hostoun, and the police consequently launched a search for the son as a suspect.
The police were also informed that the shooter was to give a lecture at the Faculty of Arts building on Celetna Street in Prague. Thus they evacuated the building, but the shooting took place in another one at Jan Palach Square, the CTK reported. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala told media in the evening that at the moment, the shooting seemed to be the act of a lone gunman, and it was neither international terrorism nor the act of an organized group.
Calling the shooting “a terrible act, unprecedented in the history of the Czech Republic,” Interior Minister Vit Rakusan has said that there is no indication that the shooting was linked to international terrorism.
(Xinhua)
