14 killed in worst Czech mass shooting

PRAGUE — A 24-year-old student killed 14 people and wounded 25 at a Prague university on Thursday in the Czech Republic's worst mass shooting, before authorities said the attacker was "eliminated".

The violence in the city's historic center sparked evacuations, a massive response by heavily armed police and warnings for people to stay indoors.

The shooting erupted at the Charles University's Faculty of Arts, which sits near major tourist sites like the 14th-century Charles Bridge.

"At this moment, I can confirm 14 victims of the horrible crime and 25 wounded, of which 10 seriously," police chief Martin Vondrasek told reporters after the shooting.

All the victims were killed inside the building, he said. Media said at least some were the gunman's fellow students.

The Dutch Foreign Ministry said one of the injured was a Dutch national.

Vondrasek added the gunman, previously unknown to the police, had a "huge arsenal of weapons and ammunition" and that quick police action prevented far more serious carnage.

The government declared a day of national mourning on Saturday, with flags on official buildings to be flown at half-staff and people asked to observe a minute of silence at noon.

Vondrasek said police started a search for the man before the mass shooting, as his father had been found dead in Hostoun village west of Prague.

The gunman "left for Prague saying he wanted to kill himself", Vondrasek said. Police suggested earlier the gunman had killed his father.

Police searched a Faculty of Arts building where the gunman was expected to show up for a lecture, but he went to the faculty's main building nearby and they did not find him.

Vondrasek said police believed the same gunman had also killed a young man and his 2-month-old daughter in a pram during a walk in a forest on the eastern outskirts of Prague on Dec 15.

The police investigation into the murders that had shocked Prague was at a standstill until evidence found in Hostoun linked the gunman with the crime.

Sincere condolences

Czech President Petr Pavel said he was "shocked" by the violence and expressed "deep regret and sincere condolences to the families and relatives of the victims".

The worst shooting since the Czech Republic emerged as an independent state in 1993 also prompted messages of support from across the world.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was shocked and saddened by the mass shooting, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

US President Joe Biden sent his condolences, slamming the "senseless" shooting.

French President Emmanuel Macron also expressed his "solidarity" with the Czech people, as did other European leaders, including EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.

Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan said there was no link between the shooting and "international terrorism".

He added that "no other gunman has been confirmed".

Police cordoned off the area and asked people living nearby to stay at home.

Prague's emergency service said on X that "a large number of ambulance units" were deployed at the faculty.

Agencies - Xinhua