News!! Czech Prague university shooting leaves 14 dead, multiple wounded

 The bloodiest mass shooting in the history of the nation occurred when a 24-year-old Czech student shot and killed his father. At his Prague university, the student also injured and killed 14 people, potentially killing himself, according to police.

According to Martin Vondrasek, the head of police in the city, the gunman is also suspected of killing a second man and his two-month-old daughter, who was discovered shot dead in the woods in a village outside of Prague last week.

Authorities were informed earlier in the day that the man was probably about to take his own life and was traveling to Prague from his hamlet in the Kladno region outside of the city. They found a big arsenal of firearms at a Charles University building in the downtown area.

Shortly after that, the shooter’s father was found dead.

After hearing about the incident, police were called to the larger main building of the Faculty of Arts, where the gunman was scheduled to give a lecture. They arrived there minutes later, according to Vondrasek. The filming began just after 3 p.m. Prague time (1 a.m. AEDT).

"We have very recent, unverified information from a social media account that he was allegedly motivated by one terrorist incident in Russia in the fall of this year," Vondrasek said to reporters, noting that the gunman was a lawful possessor of multiple weapons.

"This was the unfortunate end of a horrifying pre-mediated act that originated in the Kladno region."

Vondrasek continued, "Although the gunman's death was probably a suicide, authorities were also looking into the possibility that he was killed by police who opened fire on them." He was an accomplished student with no past criminal history, according to the police, and he acted alone.

Although the man's name was released by various Czech media and matched a police search record, the police requested not to identify him. Previously, the police had reported over fifteen deaths.

Close to the faculty building and in a busy historical quarter just down the hill from Prague Castle on a well-traveled route that leads to Old Town Square, authorities cordoned off the square and surrounding area.

Images captured by the media showed pupils barricading classrooms with desks and chairs, others perched on a ledge near the roof, and others fleeing the school with their hands raised in an attempt to hide from the attacker.

"We've always believed that this is not a problem for us. Prague Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda told Czech Television, "It turns out that, regrettably, our world is also changing and the problem of the individual shooter is emerging here as well."

In an attempt to ascertain whether any Australians were impacted by the incident, the Australian Consulate in Prague and the Australian Embassy in Warsaw were immediately contacting the relevant authorities. A spokesman stated, "At this time, we have not received any reports of Australians being affected." The Australian government also expressed its sincere condolences to everyone impacted by the tragedy.

The White House declared that the US was prepared to provide support and denounced the attack. European leaders, like as Emmanuel Macron of France, extended their support.

Witness Ivo Havranek, 43, stated that at first he believed the "couple of bangs" he heard could have been caused by filming a nearby movie set or by rowdy visitors.

Suddenly, instructors and students were racing out of the building. I walked through the throng without realizing what was going on. He remarked, "I wasn't prepared to acknowledge that something like that could occur in Prague. He claimed he didn't realize it was serious until he saw police officers brandishing automatic weapons.

"They yelled at me to flee."

Vit Rakusan, the interior minister, stated that there is no proof the gunman was connected to international terrorism.

President Petr Pavel and the director of the nation's counterintelligence agency attended an emergency meeting called by Prime Minister Petr Fiala after he postponed a trip to the east of the country.

According to Fiala, the Czech government observed a national day of mourning on Saturday in remembrance of the shooting victims.

The Czech Republic has very little gun crime. In the eastern Czech city of Ostrava in December 2019, a 42-year-old gunman opened fire on six people in a hospital waiting area before escaping and taking his own life, according to authorities.

In 2015, at an Uhersky Brod restaurant, a guy shot eight people to death before taking his own life.

Charles University released a statement saying, "We mourn the loss of life of members of our university community, express our deepest condolences to all the bereaved, and our thoughts are with all those affected by the tragedy."

Authorities at the institution declared that they would immediately increase security in university buildings.

Authorities in the Czech Republic, who restrict access to firearms by requiring gun owners to undergo written and practical tests as well as psychological evaluations, did not immediately offer a reason for the incident.

Rakusan described the incident as "a horrific act that has no precedent in the history of the Czech Republic."

The Charles University is among the oldest in the world, having been founded in 1348. The former capital of the Czech Republic, Prague, which was hidden behind the Iron Curtain, welcomes millions of visitors each year.

"We've always believed that this is not a problem for us. Prague Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda told Czech Television, "It turns out that, regrettably, our world is also changing and the problem of the individual shooter is emerging here as well."

Director of the Rudolfinum Gallery, a performance facility located across Palach Square, Petr Nedoma, claimed to have seen the gunman on Czech TV.

"I observed a young individual on the gallery firing towards the Manes Bridge while holding a firearm, possibly an automatic rifle. He added, "I saw as he shot, put his hands up, and threw the weapon down on the street; it lay there on the pedestrian crossing." This happened repeatedly, with a few gaps.

The building, which is situated in a bustling section of the city with a well-traveled route that leads visitors to Old Town plaza, and the plaza were cordoned off by police.

Several police and ambulance vehicles with flashing lights were positioned next to the building throughout the live Czech TV broadcast, and sirens could be heard.

When they stepped off at the tram stop by the school, a witness told the news website iDnes.cz, "suddenly I heard shooting."

The news outlet was informed by student Klara that she was one among the people the police evacuated from the premises.

"It was really terrifying; there were a lot of police officers everywhere, yelling at us with submachine guns and telling us to get outside," the woman recalled.

Staff and kids received an email stating that the gunman was located in one of the buildings.

The email added, "Don't go anywhere. If you're in the offices, lock them, put furniture in front of the door, and turn off the lights."

A picture of some kids concealing while crouching on a building ledge was shared by an X user.