A calamitous shooting at Charles University in Prague on December 21, 2023, resulted in the death of 15 individuals, including the perpetrator, and left 30 wounded.
The bloodshed took place within the Faculty of Arts building situated in Prague’s historic Jan Palach Square and elicited an immediate law enforcement response.
David Kozák, a 24-year-old Charles University student, had revealed previous plans to murder his father before launching his assault at the university. After the shooting, Kozák took his own life by leaping from a building.
Earlier that day, Police Chief Martin Vondrasek had received a warning that Kozák might travel to Prague from the nearby Kladno region to commit suicide. Later, authorities found Kozák’s father deceased.
Interior Minister Vit Rakusan confirmed the shooter’s death, dispelling fears of further dangers and soliciting public cooperation with police action.
Authorities ordered evacuations for the university premises and sectioned off Jan Palach Square. The university’s Philosophical Faculty was also cleared.
Emergency services spokesperson Jana Postova noted numerous casualties.
Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s plans to visit the Czech Republic’s east were abandoned as he instead made his way to Prague in the wake of the tragedy.
Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský extended heartfelt sympathies to those bereaved and impacted by the violence in Prague, remarking on the profound distress of the ordeal.
The Czech Republic is not commonly beset by gun violence, aside from a December 2019 incident when a gunman killed six in an Ostrava hospital, later committing suicide.
