On the 21st, a college student gunman killed 15 people on the campus of Charles University in the city.
There were 24 injured, 10 in critical condition… Flag raising and silence across the country
The Czech Republic government announced on the night of the 21st that it would declare the 23rd a ‘National Day of Mourning’ in relation to a shooting incident that occurred at a university in Prague on the 21st (local time), resulting in 15 deaths and 24 injuries.
Prior to this announcement, the Czech government held an emergency response meeting and decided on this. Accordingly, national flags across the country must be flown at half-staff and all citizens must observe one minute of silence for the victims of the shooting incident that occurred at a university in Prague.
The place where the incident occurred is the Philosophy Department building of Charles University on Jan Palach Square. Prague Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda said the university building had been evacuated.
Police chief Martin Vondrasek said 10 of the injured were in critical condition.
A huge amount of weapons and ammunition were piled up inside the university’s academic office building. He said, “If the police had not intervened quickly, there would have been a greater number of casualties.”
According to the Czech news agency CTK, the previous day, police received a call from Hostun in central Bohemia reporting that a young man had left for Prague and seemed intent on making an extreme choice.
Twenty-five minutes later, the young man’s father was found dead at home, and police began pursuing his son as a suspect.
Following a tip that he was planning to give a speech at the University of Fine Arts on Prague’s Seletna Street, police completely emptied the building and evacuated people, but the shooting actually took place in Jan Palach Square, CTK news agency reported.
After the incident, the Karel University management headquarters strengthened security checks on all university buildings and canceled all events and schedules on the 21st and 22nd.
The university issued a statement expressing condolences to the victims and their families. He also delivered a message to the victims of the incident and those involved, wishing them to remain calm and regain their composure.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.