A shooting rampage at Charles University in the Czech Republic on Thursday resulted in the death of fourteen people and injuries to more than 20 others, according to authorities. The 24-year-old gunman, identified in part as David K., ended his life after the incident. The police believe that he first killed his father in their family home and then proceeded to carry out the shooting spree.
The authorities were investigating the individual’s reported posts in Russian-language messages on Telegram, some of which referenced inspiration from recent mass shootings in Russia. There was no immediate indication that the gunman’s actions were connected to international or domestic terrorism.
Radek Simik, an associate professor at Charles University, described being in a lesson when the students heard alarming sounds coming from the building’s corridor. The police arrived minutes later, and the shooting began, prompting the evacuation of the building.
The gunman’s rampage could have been far worse if the police had not been there on the scene. They had received prior information about a possible attack at the university and had evacuated a building. They later got information about the assailant and moved to evacuate individuals from there, minutes before the shooting occurred.
The shooting at the university was Europe’s worst mass shooting since back-to-back massacres in Serbia in May last year. Czech President Petr Pavel expressed shock over the incident and offered his condolences to the victims’ families.
The shooting occurred in Jan Palach Square, which is named after a student who protested against the Soviet Union’s invasion of Czechoslovakia by setting himself on fire in 1969. His actions made him a symbol of anti-communism.