More than fifteen people were killed in a shooting at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University in Prague on Thursday afternoon. The suspected shooter is also among the dead. He may have killed his own father before.
24-year-old art student David K. shot around the university with an assault rifle on Thursday. Panic then broke out at the university, which is located in a location in Prague’s Old Town that is also popular with tourists, and students fled or barricaded themselves in classrooms.
Also heard an explosion
The police urged people to avoid the area. Residents are not allowed to leave the house. Photos showed students leaving the university building with their arms raised. The university sent an email to employees to take cover and lock the doors. According to a report from television channel Nova, the shooter was on the roof of the faculty building. An explosion was also heard.
Shooter’s father found dead
According to Prague’s police chief, the attacker was a student at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University. His lifeless body was discovered on the faculty. In addition, the shooter’s father was found dead earlier in the day.
Students and employees of the university say on social media that they have barricaded themselves in lecture halls and offices. People now have to be taken out of the building one by one. The rescue service sent several ambulances, emergency doctors and a large ambulance to the scene.
Van der Bellen “deeply shocked”
Czech President Petr Pavel expressed his condolences to the families of the dead. He thanked the citizens of the short message service X on Thursday for following the instructions of the security forces. As announced by the Head of State, Pavel is canceling his current visit to France and returning early to the Czech Republic. It is probably the worst crime involving firearms in the history of the Czech Republic, which has been independent since 1993.
Austrian Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen also expressed solidarity: “I am deeply shocked by the brutal attack in Prague today, which claimed so many victims. “In these painful hours, our thoughts are with the people of the Czech Republic, with the families and friends of the victims,” Van der Bellen wrote on X (see above).
One of the oldest universities in Europe
Charles University was founded in 1348, making it one of the oldest European universities. It has a total of approximately 49,500 students. Of these, approximately 8,000 are study subjects such as German, Slavic and historical studies at the Faculty of Humanities.
Source: Krone
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