Czech Republic commemorates the victims with a funeral service
Hundreds of candles and flags at half-mast: the Czech Republic is in national mourning after the killing spree at Charles University. With a minute's silence, the country wants to remember the 14 people who lost their lives in the horrific act. The perpetrator's motive is still unclear.
Following the gun attack at Charles University in Prague, the Czech Republic has commemorated the 14 victims with a one-day period of national mourning. The flags on all government buildings flew at half-mast, and after a minute's silence, churches throughout the country rang their bells. President Petr Pavel took part in a funeral service in St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle. Meanwhile, the search for the perpetrator's motive continued.
A 24-year-old student from Charles University shot 13 people in a university building near the famous Charles Bridge in Prague's Old Town on Thursday afternoon and then killed himself. One of the injured died later in hospital. The bloody deed caused horror across national borders.
"We are all trying to create heaven on earth, but the reality of life shows us that evil exists," said Prague Archbishop Jan Graubner at the mass in St. Vitus Cathedral. Students from the Faculty of Philosophy at Charles University brought white roses to the altar for the victims. "The life of every person enriches the lives of others in its uniqueness and becomes a part of them. Its loss is therefore irreplaceable," said the Rector of Charles University, Milena Kralickova.
Institute director among the victims
A choir that sang at the mass was led by musician and lecturer David Eben from the Institute of Musicology. The 49-year-old director of the institute and mother of two, Lenka Hlavkova, is among the 14 victims.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala had already visited an impromptu memorial site in front of the university on Friday, where students and other mourners had placed hundreds of candles. Fiala said it was difficult to find the right words to condemn the act and at the same time "express the pain and grief that our whole country is feeling in these days before Christmas".
According to the police, the shooter was a lone offender. He was not known to the police but, according to investigators, had a "huge arsenal of weapons and ammunition". The 24-year-old is also linked to the death of his father, whose body was discovered shortly before the gun attack at the university in Hostoun, west of Prague.
According to police chief Martin Vondrasek, the police had already launched a manhunt for the 24-year-old after the discovery of his father's body. He had announced in a note that he intended to kill himself in Prague.
Connection with other deaths
The police then searched the main building of the Faculty of Philosophy on the assumption that they would find the 24-year-old there at a lecture. However, the shooter had entered another building of the faculty. The police received the first reports of shots fired at around 3 pm. According to Vondrasek, the rapid reaction force was on the scene within twelve minutes. The body of the shooter was found at around 3.20 pm.
The 24-year-old is also suspected of killing a young man and his two-month-old daughter during a walk in the woods in a Prague suburb on December 15. A ballistic analysis showed that the weapon used in the forest was "identical" to a weapon "found in the house of the university shooter", the police wrote in the online service X.
Police arrested four people since the attack at the university for either threatening or advocating a copycat attack. Until at least the New Year, police will be stepping up security at a number of locations, including several schools.
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Source: www.ntv.de
