Prague attacker killed 13 people and himself
The shock after the shooting rampage at Charles University in Prague is still deep-seated. At first there was talk of 15 dead, including the shooter himself. Now, however, the authorities are revising the number downwards. However, the investigation is far from over.
Following the gun attack at Charles University in Prague, the authorities have corrected the number of victims: 13 people as well as the perpetrator died in the crime on Thursday, Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan said on the country's public television. The police also confirmed the assumption that the 24-year-old shooter killed himself after the crime. Previously there had been talk of 15 dead, including the shooter. However, Rakusan said: "We know the identity of the 14 dead. They are the 13 victims of the crazed gunman and himself."
Meanwhile, the search for the motive of the perpetrator, who was himself a student at the university, continues. Police officers have now secured further traces of the bloody crime at the university. An impromptu memorial site with hundreds of candles was set up in front of the university near Prague's famous Charles Bridge, where the head of government, Petr Fiala, also laid flowers. Interior Minister Rakusan said on Czech radio that three foreigners were among the 25 injured in "this insane massacre". According to the Dutch Foreign Ministry, one of them was a Dutch citizen.
All the victims were killed inside the university building. Rakusan declared on Thursday that there were no indications of a connection to international terrorism. The shooter was therefore a lone perpetrator. The attack was carried out at the Faculty of Philosophy at Charles University in Prague. According to police chief Martin Vondrasek, officers began searching for the 24-year-old before the gun attack after the man's father was found dead in the village of Hostoun, west of Prague. According to the police chief, the shooter had made his way to the Czech capital and said he wanted to kill himself.
The police 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 entered another building of the faculty and was not found in time. The first information about gunshots was finally received at around 3 p.m., and the rapid response team was on the scene within twelve minutes, according to Vondrasek. The body of the shooter was found shortly afterwards. The crime caused horror beyond the country's borders. Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also expressed their condolences. The Czech government declared a national day of mourning on December 23.
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The investigation into the motive behind the criminal act of murder and manslaughter at Charles University in Prague is ongoing, with authorities examining the shooter's background as a student there. This incident, classified as a rampage, has sparked international concern, with three foreign nationals among the 25 injured. The Czech Interior Minister, Vit Rakusan, confirmed that the attack was not linked to any international terrorism, making the perpetrator a lone criminal operating within the Czech Republic.
Source: www.ntv.de
