Jump to content

2023 Prague shootings

Coordinates: 50°05′21″N 14°24′58″E / 50.08917°N 14.41611°E / 50.08917; 14.41611
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 188.231.9.162 (talk) at 15:02, 22 December 2023 (Refer to my previous edit). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

2023 Prague shooting
Faculty of Arts, Charles University and Mánes Bridge, the sites of shooting (photo 2010)
2023 Prague shootings is located in Prague city centre
2023 Prague shootings
2023 Prague shootings (Prague city centre)
LocationHostouň and 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
WeaponAR-10 .308 rifle[1]
Deaths15 (including the perpetrator)[a]
Injured25
AccusedDavid Kozak [2][3]
Location of the murder sites in and around Prague. Hostouň is located just off the edge of this map.

On 21 December 2023, 15 people, including the gunman,[4] were killed in a mass shooting at the Faculty of Arts, Charles University, on Jan Palach Square in central Prague, Czech Republic.[5][6][7] Another 25 were injured, three of them foreigners.[8] The perpetrator committed suicide after shoot-out with police. Before the shooting, the perpetrator's father was found dead at his home in Hostouň.

The perpetrator was considered one of several suspects in a double murder case that took place six days earlier, but the lead investigator commented that the police did not manage to act in time to prevent the attack.[9]

The incident is the deadliest mass murder in modern Czech history, surpassing the Bohumín arson attack that took place in 2020,[10] and is one of the deadliest mass shootings in Europe since the Bataclan theatre massacre in 2015.[11]

Events

Klánovice Forest nature reserve murders

On 15 December 2023, a 32-year-old father and his infant child in a stroller were shot dead in the Klánovice Forest nature reserve on the eastern outskirts of Prague.[12] The police conducted a detailed search of the entire forest with hundreds of police officers, while a special task force was set up in order to find the perpetrator. On 20 December, police said that they had no leads in the case but were continuing to search for the perpetrator.[13][14] On the same day, the RKBA-oriented website zbrojnice.com noted a similarity of the case with the 2005 forest killer murders, in which a former police officer killed three random victims in forests as a preparation for a planned mass murder in the Prague Metro, which was prevented by his early arrest; the article ended with appeal to readers to remain vigilant and carry their concealed firearms.[15]

Five hours after the attack at the university, the police released information that they had found evidence in the perpetrator's house linking him to the Klánovice Forest murders.[16]

During a press conference held a day after the shooting, the chief detective of Prague's 1st General Crime Unit stated that the perpetrator was one of several suspects in the Klánovice Forest murder case. However, because he was living in the Central Bohemian Region, they were a few days short of being able to prevent the shootings. Central Bohemia is a separate region from the city of Prague, and each region in the country has a separate police directorate.[9]

Hostouň familicide, police manhunt

On 21 December 2023 at 12:20 CET, the police were alerted by the perpetrator's mother that her son was planning to commit suicide and that he was en route from his hometown of Hostouň to Prague. At 12:45, the police found the body of the perpetrator's father in his home.[17] A detailed search of the house was complicated by improvised explosive devices, which failed to explode.[18] The police found out that the perpetrator was a student of the Faculty of Arts at Charles University and that he was supposed to attend a 14:00 lecture at the school. A search warrant was issued and published immediately afterwards; the warrant indicated that the perpetrator was armed and dangerous.[17] Police also commenced a security operation at Václav Havel Airport Prague,[19] where the gunman’s father worked in the airport security department.[20]

Police officers were present at the main building of the Faculty of Arts shortly after 13:00 CET, however they left before the attack took place. The director of the Prague Police commented that at that time, they were looking for a person who was likely to commit suicide, and therefore the officers left without taking any action after not finding him there.[21]

The police commenced evacuation of a building of the Faculty of Arts in Celetná street, where the lecture was supposed to take place; the evacuation was finished at 14:22. The perpetrator was not found in the building nor in its vicinity.[17]

Charles University shooting

The Faculty of Arts building at Charles University

At 14:59 CET, as the manhunt continued, the police received their first calls about a shooting taking place in the main Faculty of Arts building at Jan Palach Square, a twelve-minute walk from the evacuated building in Celetná.[17] The gunman opened fire at random inside the building's corridors and classrooms, while staff and students barricaded themselves in rooms using furniture. Several of those inside fled the building by jumping into nearby structures from the exterior ledges. The gunfire also caused panic outside, with crowds fleeing Charles Bridge.[22]

Police gradually shut down a large part of Prague city center during the shooting.

The first police units reached the building within minutes and brought those inside to the Rudolfinium across the street while cordoning off the area.[23] The city emergency service also deployed a large number of ambulance units to the scene.[24]

Police officers were searching for the perpetrator on the upper floors when they were alerted that he was shooting at people from the rooftop. After this, the policemen lost some time searching for entrance towards the rooftop, as it was not marked and the entire area was difficult to navigate.[9] Meanwhile, the perpetrator was engaged by officers shooting at him from the street level. At 15:20, the perpetrator committed suicide on the roof of the building.[9]

Police later searched Jan Palach Square and a balcony for explosives.[25]

A video by reporter Jiří Forman showed the shooter at the school with a rifle. He shouted at him, "I'm here, shoot here!", in an attempt to draw his fire away from students evacuating the building.[1]

Victims

Fourteen people at the university were killed and 25 were injured.[4] The shooter killed his father at their home.[26] All the fatalities, some of whom were the perpetrator's fellow students, were later confirmed by authorities to have died inside the building. At least one of the victims was a professor.[27] Ten of the injured were described to be in serious condition.[24] Three foreign nationals were reported to be among the injured, namely one Dutch national and two Emiratis.[8] Three people were wounded in the streets when the perpetrator opened fire from the rooftop. The perpetrator also hit a civilian car and police cars.[9]

Perpetrator

A police officer with Interpol Prague identified the perpetrator as David Kozák, a 24-year-old world history student[28] from Hostouň, 21 kilometers outside Prague,[29][30] who had graduated with a bachelor's degree in history and European studies from the Faculty of Arts.[31] Police said that Kozák had no prior criminal record.[22] A Telegram account attributed to him contained writings praising other school shooters, particularly in Russia.[22][32] This information was shared by Czech media but was not officially confirmed by police.[22]

Czech Police Chief Martin Vondrášek [cs] said that the shooter had a gun permit and owned eight weapons.[29] As a European Union member state, the Czech Republic adheres to the European Firearms Directive.[33] To legally possess a firearm in Czechia, a person must first obtain a firearms license, which requires a medical examination, a weapon proficiency exam and clean criminal record. Gun attacks in the country are rare.[29] According to official police statistics, there were 313,000 gun license holders in the country in 2022, who collectively owned about one million registered firearms.[34]

Reactions

Domestic

Later that evening, passersby left lighted candles and flowers at the site of the attack.[22]

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.[35] Prime Minister Petr Fiala cancelled his scheduled events in Olomouc and travelled to Prague shortly after the shooting.[36] He later announced a day of mourning for 23 December, with flags flying at half-mast and a minute of silence to be held at noon, along with the ringing of bells for the victims.[22][29] 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.[37][38]

The 2023–24 UEFA Women's Champions League football match between Slavia Prague and St. Pölten, set to be played at home in Prague on the day of the shooting, was postponed.[39] Several other sports and cultural events were also called off.[22]

International

Condolences were expressed by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. United States president Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden were said to be praying for the families of the victims. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy,[40] Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau,[41] Israeli president Isaac Herzog,[42][43] Slovak president Zuzana Čaputová and prime minister Robert Fico,[44] the Turkish Foreign Ministry,[45] German chancellor Olaf Scholz,[46] Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán,[47] and French president Emmanuel Macron[48] also gave their condolences.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The perpetrator killed fourteen people at the university before committing suicide. Prior to the shooting, he also killed his father at their family home. He is also suspected of killing two other people outside Prague on 15 December.

References

  1. ^ a b Forman, Jiří (21 December 2023). "Novinář popsal střelbu v Praze: Křičel jsem na něj, ať střílí radši po mně". TV Nova (in Czech).
  2. ^ Ehl, Martin (21 December 2023). "Inspirací útočníka mohly být střelby v Rusku. Objevil se i účet na Telegramu" (in Czech). Hospodářské noviny. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  3. ^ "Predstavím sa, som David. Vždy som chcel zabíjať... Zanechal masový vrah z Prahy svoj manifest?". Pravda.sk (in Slovak). 21 December 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  4. ^ a b Prague shooting: 15 dead in Prague, including gunman, retrieved 22 December 2023
  5. ^ "Prague shooting: Several dead and dozens injured in university shooting". BBC News. 21 December 2023. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  6. ^ Laca, Peter (21 December 2023). "Several Dead, Wounded in Prague University Shooting, Police Say". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ a b "Policie zná totožnost už 13 obětí střelby, mezi zraněnými jsou tři cizinci". iDNES.cz (in Czech). 22 December 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d e "Střelec z ochozu fakulty zranil i tři lidi na ulici. Sám se zastřelil zřejmě brokovnicí". iDNES.cz (in Czech). 22 December 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  10. ^ "What we know about the mass shooting in Prague". BBC News. 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ "Prague shooter connected with two murders last week". BBC News. 21 December 2023. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  13. ^ Gavriněv, Vojtěch (21 December 2023). "Co víme týden od vraždy v Klánovicích. Zločinec musí být absolutně bezcitný". Seznam Zprávy (in Czech). Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  14. ^ "Policie i Rakušan přiznali, že klánovický vrah je stále na svobodě". iDNES.cz (in Czech). 20 December 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  15. ^ Gawron, Tomáš (20 December 2023). "Klánovický vrah běhá na svobodě, zachovejte ostražitost". Zbrojnice (in Czech). Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  16. ^ Menšík, Jan. "Střelec z fakulty možná zabil i muže a kojence v Klánovicích, uvedla policie". Novinky.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  17. ^ a b c d Trousilová, Tereza (22 December 2023). "Minutu po minutě: Jak policie zasahovala proti střelci v Praze". Novinky.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  18. ^ Holoubek, Jan (21 December 2023). "Masový vrah Kozák měl doma připravenou bombu". PrahaIN.cz (in Czech). Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  19. ^ Tykalová, Tereza (21 December 2023). "Zasahují v Hostouni i na ruzyňském letišti. Policie má kvůli střelci manévry". iDNES.cz (in Czech). Czech News Agency. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  20. ^ Ehl, Martin (21 December 2023). "Inspirací útočníka mohly být střelby v Rusku. Objevil se i účet na Telegramu". Hospodářské Noviny (in Czech). Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  21. ^ https://echo24.cz/a/HLtfQ/zpravy-domaci-strelba-na-filozoficke-fakulte-utok-cinnost-policie-reditel-matejcek
  22. ^ a b c d e f g "Prague shooting: Czech police seek motive behind country's worst mass attack". BBC. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  23. ^ "Viděl jsem, jak střílel směrem k Pražskému hradu a pak zbraň zahodil, popisuje svědek | Aktuálně.cz". Aktuálně.cz - Víte, co se právě děje (in Czech). 21 December 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  24. ^ a b "Gunman kills 14, wounds 25 at Prague university". France 24. 21 December 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  25. ^ "Police: At least 15 people are dead afte mass shooting in Prague". NY1. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  26. ^ Kottasova, Ivana (21 December 2023). "Police revise number of people killed in Prague shooting to 14". CNN. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  27. ^ "Lidé ve středověku nám byli podobnější, než si myslíme, říká Lenka Hlávková. S kolegy rekonstruovala, jak zněla hudba na pražské univerzitě". Vltava (in Czech). 29 October 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  28. ^ "Prague shooting: Gunman at Prague university who killed 15 was student – police". BBC News. 21 December 2023. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  29. ^ a b c d 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.
  30. ^ "Gunman dead after killing 14 at Prague's Charles University". BBC News. 21 December 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  31. ^ Elsnic, Miroslav (21 December 2023). "Co se ví o útočníkovi na fakultě v Praze? Zřejmě to byl student, měl více zbraní". Deník (in Czech). Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  32. ^ Crisp, James (21 December 2023). "Prague gunman David Kozak shared mass shooting fantasies online". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  33. ^ Gawron, Tomáš (23 October 2020). "Od směrnice k implementaci: co přináší a co znamená Poslaneckou sněmovnou PČR schválená novela zákona o zbraních". advokatnidenik.cz (in Czech).
  34. ^ Gawron, Tomáš (1 December 2022). "Počet registrovaných zbraní v ČR překročil milion, masivní nárůst počtu držitelů zbrojních průkazů, rekordní nárůst zbraní". Zbrojnice (in Czech).
  35. ^ 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.
  36. ^ Higgins, Andrew; Gross, Jenny; Toler, Aric (21 December 2023). "At Least 15 Dead in Czech Republic After Shooting at Prague University". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  37. ^ 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.
  38. ^ "President Pavel cuts France trip short over mass shooting in Prague". Radio Prague International. 21 December 2023. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  39. ^ "Slavia Prague game with St Polten in UEFA Women's Champions League called off after shooting in Czech capital". Eurosport. 21 December 2023.
  40. ^ 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. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  41. ^ 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.
  42. ^ Greyman-Kennard, Danielle (21 December 2023). "14 dead, 24 injured in Czech capital university shooting". The Jerusalem Post. Reuters. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  43. ^ "Pres. Herzog sends condolences for mass-shooting in Prague". Israel National News. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  44. ^ "K streľbe v Prahe sa vyjadrila prezidentka Čaputová i premiér Fico: Stojíme v tejto ťažkej chvíli pri vás". Emefka. 21 December 2023. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  45. ^ Güldoğan, Diyar. "Türkiye 'deeply saddened' over Prague university shooting". aa.com.tr. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  46. ^ 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.
  47. ^ 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.
  48. ^ "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. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.