At Least 15 Dead, Several More Injured in Prague University Shooting

At least 15 people were shot dead by a gunman from a balcony on the faculty of arts at the University of Prague on Thursday, with the gunman reported by local media to have fallen from the roof.

A mass shooter has been “eliminated” and “here are several dead and dozens of injured” around the faculty of arts building at the University of Prague, Czech police said on Thursday. Czech newspaper Lidové Noviny reports the mayor of Prague Bohuslav Svoboda told their publication that the presumed shooter had fallen from the building and was now dead. Images circulated on social media show a man identified as the attacker holding a long fire arm with scope at the balcony rail near the roof of the building.

Update 1740 — Death toll revised upwards

A police press conference reveals some developments, and tragically among them is a revised death toll of 15, up from 10 cited earlier. 24 people are said to be receiving medical treatment. Not all of those killed died of gunshot wounds, and some of the dead fell from the university building while trying to escape the gunman.

Police also say they were hunting for the gunman before the shooting, but were looking in the wrong university building, believing he was about to attack the philosophy department. The attack was instead launched at the arts building of Prague’s Charles University. The gunman is reported to have already shot his father earlier in the day in the village of Kladensko, and as police attempted to find the 24-year-old, discovered he was scheduled to give a lecture at the university on Thursday afternoon.

It is still unknown whether the perpetrator died by his own gun, or a police bullet.

Update 1630 — Toll rises to 30 injured 

The number of victims of Thursday’s attack is rising, with “about 30” said to have been injured, per the Associated Press. Nine of those injured received serious wounds. The death toll of ten victims plus the shooter himself for a total of 11 fatalities remains unchanged.

Czech police say the shooter has been identified as a 24-year-old citizen, a history student with a history of “psychological problems”. He is said to have already killed his father at his home village of Kladensko, about an hour’s drive from Prague, earlier today. Regional newspaper Deník reports the body of a 55-year-old man had been found in the village today, suggesting the death toll of today’s attack could potentially be higher than presently acknowledged.

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Witnesses talking to the Lidové Noviny stated: “We are on the third floor, where he shot afterwards. We hid tight. Then he shot in the corridor near the classroom and someone shouted there”. Another told how they had seen students attempt to escape the shooter by scaling the outside of the building, clinging onto the stone architrave.

The Czech Interior Minister Vít Rakušan said of the shooting that members of the public should avoid the area and should not “go to the place to look”. Rakušan continued: “I don’t want to comment on the shooter’s motivation at the moment, we are still mapping the situation. I appreciate the professional intervention of all components. The police were on the scene within minutes.”

The minister also spoke of another attack which took place in Klánovice, a leafy suburb of Prague last week in which a 32-year-old man and a two-month-old girl — still strapped into her stroller — were shot dead. “At the moment, there is no way to confirm the connection with the investigated case in Klánovice”, Rakušan said. A manhunt for a possible suspect had been announced by Bohemian police today.

This story is developing and more follows