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2023 Prague shootings

Coordinates: 50°05′21″N 14°24′58″E / 50.08917°N 14.41611°E / 50.08917; 14.41611
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2023 Prague shooting
2023 Prague shootings is located in Prague city centre
2023 Prague shootings
2023 Prague shootings (Prague city centre)
Locationnear Faculty of Arts, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
Coordinates50°05′21″N 14°24′58″E / 50.08917°N 14.41611°E / 50.08917; 14.41611
Date21 December 2023
c. 15:00 – 15:20 (CET, UTC+1)
Attack type
School shooting, mass shooting, murder–suicide, spree shooting, mass murder, patricide
Deaths15 (+ the perpetrator) [a]
Injured25

On 21 December 2023, 15 people, including the shooter,[1][2][3] were killed in a mass shooting at the Faculty of Arts, Charles University, on Jan Palach Square in central Prague, Czech Republic.[4][5][6] 25 more were injured, 10 of them critically.

Police arrived and closed off a large area surrounding the scene of the shooting.[6][7] The perpetrator shot himself dead and the university building was evacuated.[6][8] Police found his father dead earlier in the day.[2]

The incident is the deadliest mass shooting in the Czech Republic's history since the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993[9] and is one of the deadliest mass shootings in Europe since the Bataclan theatre massacre in November 2015.[10]

Events

Previous murders

According to police, the suspect was possibly responsible for the murders of a 32-year-old father and his infant in a stroller in a Klánovice forest on 15 December.[11] The search operation, during which hundreds of police officers searched the entire forest, ended on 20 December without a suspect being found.[12]

According to an Interpol officer, the suspect killed his father in their family home in Hostouň, Kladno District, the same day as the school shooting.[1][13]

Police later searched the shooter's residence, where they reportedly found explosives and other firearms.[14] Police also conducted searches at Václav Havel Airport Prague,[15] where the shooter's father worked in the airport security department.[16]

Charles University shooting

The Faculty of Arts building at Charles University

Authorities had discovered a large arsenal of weapons earlier that day at a downtown Prague Charles University building and were also tipped off that the shooter was on his way to Prague to take his own life. Shortly after that, the shooter's father was found dead.[17]

At 14:00, police evacuated a building at Charles University on Celetná street where the suspect was scheduled to attend a lecture.[18] At 14:59, police received first reports of the shooting at a different building, with reports of shots coming from the roof of the faculty of arts building of the university.[1] According to Pavel Nedoma, director of the nearby Rudolfinum Gallery, a man was seen on a balcony firing toward the Mánes Bridge, over the Vltava River. At 15:20, the police found the shooter dead.[13] Police later searched Jan Palach Square and a balcony for explosives.[19]

A video by news reporter Jiří Forman showed the suspect at the school with a rifle. Forman shouted at the suspect, "I'm here, shoot here!", in an attempt to draw his fire away from students evacuating the building. Forman gave his account of the interaction to a reporter from TV Nova, a Czech television station.[20]

Victims

The shooter killed 14 people at the university and injured 25.[21]

Perpetrator

A police officer with Interpol Prague said that the perpetrator was David Kozak, a24-year-old world history student from the city of Kladno, 24 kilometers from Prague.[3][22] It is thought that the shooter was inspired by other mass shootings abroad, such as the school shooting in Bryansk, Russia that had happened earlier that December.[1][23]

He graduated with a bachelor's degree in History–European Studies from the Faculty of Arts of Charles University.[24] On 20 June 2022, he defended his bachelor's thesis The Antagonism problematics of Galician Peasant Revolt and Kraków Uprising in the year of 1846.[25] In the thesis, he investigated the causes of the defeat of the Kraków uprising for the independence of the Polish state, primarily the failure of the efforts of the Polish insurgents to gain the support of the Galician peasants for their cause. The Polish Institute in Prague awarded this thesis the Marian Szyjkovský Prize in the category of the best bachelor's thesis; they presented the award at the Polish Embassy in Prague on 28 April 2023.[26]

Reactions

Domestic

Interior Minister Vít Rakušan said that there were no other shooters, but urged everyone to cooperate with police, while adding investigators did not suspect an ideological or extremist link.[27] Prime Minister Petr Fiala cancelled his scheduled events in Olomouc and travelled to Prague shortly after the shooting.[1][28] President Petr Pavel expressed his "sincere condolences" to the family and friends of the victims via social media, while also cutting short a trip to France.[29][30]

International

  •  European Union: European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen stated she expresses her "deepest condolences to the families of the victims and to the Czech people as a whole".[10]
  •  United States: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that President Joe Biden and his wife Jill were praying for the families of the victims.[10]
  •  Ukraine: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that he "wished those injured a speedy recovery" and that he expressed his "sincere condolences to families of the victims".[31]
  •  Canada: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shared his condolences, stating "To our Czech friends: Canada mourns with you."[32]
  •  Israel: President Isaac Herzog said he was "deeply saddened" by the shooting, and sent condolences to Czech president Petr Pavel and the citizens of the nation. He also wished for a "speedy recovery" for the injured and expressed sympathy for families who lost loved ones.[33][34]
  •  Slovakia: President Zuzana Čaputová expressed condolences and offered help. She also stated that she was in contact with Czech president Petr Pavel. Prime Minister Robert Fico also expressed condolences and offered help.[35]
  •  Germany: Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was "deeply shocked by the terrible news from Prague", expressed condolences and wished a fast recovery to the injured.[36]
  •  Hungary: Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that he was "deeply shocked by the heinous shooting that took place at Charles University" and that "Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims".[37]
  •  France: President Emmanuel Macron said he felt "strong emotion" upon learning about the shooting, and expressed solidarity with the victims, the injured, and the Czech people and authorities.[38]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Includes the perpetrator's father at their family home.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Higgins, Andrew; Gross, Jenny (21 December 2023). "15 Dead in Czech Republic After Shooting at Prague University". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  2. ^ a b Dalton, Jane (21 December 2023). "Prague shooting: Gunman kills at least 15 people at Charles university". The Independent. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  3. ^ a b Soukup, Jaroslav (21 December 2023). "Masovým vrahem je 24letý student univerzity". Novinky.cz (in Czech). Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  4. ^ "Prague shooting: Several dead and dozens injured in university shooting". BBC. 21 December 2023. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  5. ^ Laca, Peter (21 December 2023). "Several Dead, Wounded in Prague University Shooting, Police Say". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  6. ^ a b c Nohl, Radek; Svihel, Petr. "Po střelbě na Filozofické fakultě je deset mrtvých, další jsou vážně zranění". Seznamzpravy (in Czech). Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  7. ^ Kottasová, Ivana; Gretener, Jessie; Mastrini, John (21 December 2023). "Gunman kills 14 people and wounds 25 others at Prague university". CNN. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  8. ^ "Czech police say people have been killed in a shooting in downtown Prague". Houston Chronicle. 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  9. ^ "What we know about the mass shooting in Prague". BBC News. 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  10. ^ a b c De Vynck, Gerrit; Brady, Kate (21 December 2023). "At least 15 dead in shootings at university in Prague". The Washington Post. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  11. ^ "Prague shooter connected with two murders last week". BBC News. 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  12. ^ Gavriněv, Vojtěch (21 December 2023). "Co víme týden od vraždy v Klánovicích. Zločinec musí být absolutně bezcitný". Seznam zprávy (in Czech).
  13. ^ a b Bayer, Lili (21 December 2023). "At least 15 dead and dozens injured in Prague university shooting, Czech police say – as it happened". the Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  14. ^ Holoubek, Jan (21 December 2023). "Masový vrah Kozák měl doma připravenou bombu". PrahaIN.cz (in Czech).
  15. ^ Tykalová, Tereza (21 December 2023). "Zasahují v Hostouni i na ruzyňském letišti. Policie má kvůli střelci manévry". iDNES.cz (in Czech). Czech News Agency.
  16. ^ Ehl, Martin (21 December 2023). "Inspirací útočníka mohly být střelby v Rusku. Objevil se i účet na Telegramu". Hospodářské noviny (HN.cz) (in Czech). Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  17. ^ Jan, Lopatka (21 December 2023). "Gunman kills 14 in attack at his Prague university". Reuters. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  18. ^ Lopatka, Jan (21 December 2023). "Gunman kills at least 15 people at his Prague university". Reuters. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  19. ^ "Police: Lone gunman kills 14, injures 25 at Prague university". ny1.com. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  20. ^ "Televizní noviny 21. 12. 2023". TV Nova (in Czech). 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  21. ^ Kottasova, Ivana (21 December 2023). "Police revise number of people killed in Prague shooting to 14". CNN. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  22. ^ "Prague shooting: Gunman at Prague university who killed 15 was student - police". BBC News. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  23. ^ Crisp, James; Rothwell, James; Barber, Harriet; Styllis, George (21 December 2023). "Prague shooting: Prague university shooter killed father before gunning down 14". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  24. ^ Elsnic, Miroslav (21 December 2023). "Co se ví o útočníkovi na fakultě v Praze? Zřejmě to byl student, měl více zbraní". Deník (in Czech).
  25. ^ Kozák, David (23 May 2022). "Problematika antagonismu haličského rolnického a krakovského povstání v roce 1846". Charles University digital repository (in Czech).
  26. ^ "Studenti z FF UK obdrželi cenu Mariana Szyjkowského v kategorii nejlepší bakalářské práce" (in Czech). Filozofická fakulta Univerzity Karlovy. 3 May 2023.
  27. ^ Janicek, Karel (21 December 2023). "At least 15 people are dead after a mass shooting at a Prague university, police chief says". AP News. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  28. ^ "10 people are killed in a mass shooting in downtown Prague". NPR. 21 December 2023. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  29. ^ Pavel, Petr [@prezidentpavel] (21 December 2023). "Jsem šokován událostmi na Filozofické fakultě Univerzity Karlovy. Chtěl bych vyjádřit hlubokou lítost a upřímnou soustrast rodinám a příbuzným obětí, které si střelba vyžádala. Chci poděkovat občanům, že respektují pokyny bezpečnostních složek a poskytují maximální součinnost" (Tweet) (in Czech). Retrieved 21 December 2023 – via Twitter.
  30. ^ "President Pavel cuts France trip short over mass shooting in Prague". Radio Prague International. 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  31. ^ Barber, Harriet; Styllis, George; Crisp, James (21 December 2023). "Prague shooting: Prague university shooter killed father before gunning down 15". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  32. ^ Trudeau, Justin [@JustinTrudeau] (21 December 2023). "I'm deeply shocked by the tragic news coming out of Prague. Our thoughts are with the families of the innocent victims lost to this act of violence, and we're hoping for a swift recovery for those injured. To our Czech friends: Canada mourns with you" (Tweet). Retrieved 21 December 2023 – via Twitter.
  33. ^ Greyman-Kennard, Danielle (21 December 2023). "14 dead, 24 injured in Czech capital university shooting". The Jerusalem Post. Reuters. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  34. ^ "Pres. Herzog sends condolences for mass-shooting in Prague". Israel National News. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  35. ^ "K streľbe v Prahe sa vyjadrila prezidentka Čaputová i premiér Fico: Stojíme v tejto ťažkej chvíli pri vás". Emefka. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  36. ^ Scholz, Olaf [@Bundeskanzler] (21 December 2023). "I am deeply shocked by the terrible news from Prague. Our thoughts are with the families and friends of the victims and our condolences go out to our Czech friends. I wish the injured a speedy recovery" (Tweet). Retrieved 21 December 2023 – via Twitter.
  37. ^ Orbán, Viktor [@PM_ViktorOrban] (21 December 2023). "I was deeply shocked by the heinous shooting that took place at Charles University in #Prague today. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims! 🙏" (Tweet). Retrieved 21 December 2023 – via Twitter.
  38. ^ "Prague : ce que l'on sait de la fusillade qui a fait 14 morts dans une université de la capitale tchèque". Franceinfo (in French). 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
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