Prague shooting latest: Bells rung across Czech Republic as nation mourns 14 dead in university attack
Gunman behind Thursday’s mass shooting identified as 24-year-old David Kozak
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails
Sign up to our free breaking news emails
Bells rang across the Czech Republic and the national flags on public buildings were at half-staff as people across the country observed a minute of silence to honor the 14 victims of the worst mass killing in Czech history.
Archbishop Jan Graubner served a mass at the main St Vitus cathedral at the Prague Castle. “We’re all still in a shock in our own ways,” the archbishop said, adding: “We need to clearly condemn what happened but we also need to look into the future.”
“Nobody should be left alone in these tough moments,” Charles University rector Milena Kralickova said in her remarks toward the end of the Mass.
The gunman behind Thursday’s mass shooting has been identified as 24-year-old David Kozak.
The history student opened fire on the fourth floor of Charles University in Prague, killing at least 14 people and injuring more than 20 with legally owned weapons.
He is believed to have killed his father before carrying out the massacre at his university. Authorities on Friday announced that all victims in Thursday’s shooting in Prague have been identified and none of them were foreign citizens.
In pictures: Candles and flowers laid outside Charles University
First victim named
The first victim of the mass shooting yesterday was named on Friday as Lenka Hlávková.
The Institute of Music Science at Charles University’s philosophy department posted a message of “deep regret” over her death on its Facebook page.
It read: “On the basis of verified information from the family and with their permission, we are announcing that our colleague and director of the Institute of Musicology of the Faculty of Music of the Faculty of Music, Lenka Hlávková did not survive yesterday’s attack.
“We express our deepest condolences to all the bereaved, first and foremost to the family. This is extremely cruel news for all of us. Let’s stay in support of each other.”
No other victims have been named yet.
Witness account from man who was shot at
Jiri Forman, a Czech journalist, witnessed yesterday’s attack at Charles University.
The reporter bravely shouted at the gunman from Jan Palach Square in an attempt to stop him from shooting at students and filmed the incident.
“Hey, you f****r, here I am, shoot here!” He screamed.
Asked by an officer what was he doing, Forman is heard in the footage shouting: “So that he doesn’t shoot at the people! What do you think I’m am I doing, man? There are people there!”
His actions have won him plaudits in Czech media, but Forman played down suggestions he was a hero.
“Where I stood it was absolutely safe, nobody was there and I knew I could duck behind an obstacle,” he told Reuters on Friday.
“And if he shoots in my direction, he won’t have the people fleeing, they will have a chance to reach cover. I screamed at him and he started shooting in my direction.”
“The policeman I believe shot three times at the attacker. I think this threw him off balance. Then he also hears that police are getting close from inside, so he shot himself,” Mr Forman said.
He added: “I did things I believed were right, and unfortunately, the sad heroes are the relatives who lost their closest ones at this Christmas time, and policemen and rescue services.”
Where did the shooting take place?
Lone gunman David Kozak shot 14 people dead at Charles University in Prague on Thursday.
The attack happened in the Faculty of Arts building in Jan Palach Square in the city centre, just an eight-minute walk from Prague’s busy Christmas market.
Earlier in the day, a friend of Kozak’s had alerted police to a message she had received from him threatening to commit suicide. Officers then discovered Kozak’s father dead in his home and put out a search warrant for the 24-year-old.
Having determined he was going to Prague, police evacuated another Charles University building he was due to attend a lecture in at 2pm.
Shortly after, the shooting began in the Faculty of Arts.
Watch: Mourners lay tributes at Prague university after at least 14 killed in mass shooting
At the Charles University headquarters, crowds that included Prime Minister Petr Fiala and US Ambassador Bijan Sabet paid tribute to the victims. Some knelt to light candles and lay flowers while others stood crying and hugging each other.
Charles University cancelled all lectures and events on Friday a day after the shooting in the central European country of 10.9 million where over 300,000 people own guns but mass shootings are rare.
“We are here to show our support as fellow students,” said Czech student Daniel Broz.
“I was on the other side of the river and hearing gunshots, pops and not knowing what is going on and then a flurry of police cars passing by was absolutely surreal especially as a Czech who has never witnessed an event similar to this before.”
Piles of ammunition and barricaded classrooms: Police reveal how Prague mass shooting unfolded
As Prague mourns its dead and tries to recover from the deadliest mass shooting in the Czech Republic’s history, police revealed how events unfolded on Thursday.
A student at the university, Kozak is believed to have killed his father in his hometown of Hostoun before travelling 24km (15 miles) to the country’s capital to launch the devastating attack.
As more information is revealed about yesterday’s horrific mass shooting in central Prague, Alex Ross takes a closer look at how the incident unfolded according to authorities:
Read the full report below:
Piles of ammo, barricaded classrooms and shooter suicide: How Prague tragedy unfolded
The victims include the head of the Institute of Musicology at Charles University and several foreign nationals
Czech Police arrest man ‘inspired’ by shooting
Czech Police said they had arrested a man who had said he was ‘inspired’ by yesterday’s shooting and wanted to buy a gun.
The force shared a video of officers arresting the man soon after the call was made and he was identified.
In a separate post on X, they said they had been made aware of several cases of people who were allegedly inspired by the incident in Prague yesterday.
How did the shooter own guns?
Before shooting 14 people dead at a university building in central Prague, David Kozak had no criminal record. He did, however, own several guns.
The 24-year-old had a proclivity for firearms, with a license to own eight guns, including two long guns, police said.
Police chief Tomas Vondrasek said officers found an arsenal of weapons with a lot of ammunition that the suspect had to carry unnoticed to the university building before opening fire.
In 2021, the Czech Parliament amended the Constitution’s Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms to give people a right to defend themselves or others with a gun. That move, adopted after more than 100,000 people signed a petition in support, means that the right cannot be limited by a separate law.
In the country of 10.9 million, 314,000 people had a gun license by the end of last year and owned almost a million various weapons.
To get a license, people need to be a Czech resident, be older than 21 (that doesn’t apply for sports and hunting), be in good health, mentally responsible, reliable and without a criminal record.
Written and practical tests, including shooting at a target, are also part of the procedure.But once a person meets all the requirements, the authorities who keep the records don’t need to inform police about the numbers of guns people have, Ales Strach, a senior Prague police officer said Friday.
Students pay respects outside University building
Political leaders, students, friends of the victims and others came together today to light candles during an impromptu vigil for the victims of a mass shooting at a University in Prague.
“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.”
“We are here to show our support as fellow students,” said Czech student Daniel Broz.
“I was on the other side of the river and hearing gunshots, pops and not knowing what is going on and then a flurry of police cars passing by was absolutely surreal especially as a Czech who has never witnessed an event similar to this before.”
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.
Police match weapon at suspect’s house to one used in forest killings
Czech Police have matched a weapon found at the University gunman’s house to one used in the killing of two people in a forest last week.
Detectives had been working on the theory that the killer was responsible for the deaths of a father and his four-month-old daughter last week in the Klanovicky forest near Prague. They believe he chose his victims at random.
Now, authorities confirmed that a weapon used in that incident had been matched to one in the home of the man, named widely as David Kozak, who shot 14 people dead yesterday.
A translation of a Czech Police statement read: “Ballistics expertise has shown a MATCH of the weapon that was used in Klánovický les with the weapon that was found in the house where the shooter from the university lived.”
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies