Czechs mourn victims
in the Czech capital Prague are mourning the victims of the worst mass shooting in the country’s history.
Political leaders, students, friends of the victims and others came together to light candles in tribute to the 14 dead at an impromptu vigil outside the headquarters of Charles University, where the gunman opened fire, injuring 25 more.
The bloodshed took place at the Faculty of Arts, where the 24-yearold gunman was a student, Prague police chief Martin Vondrasek said.
Authorities said three foreign nationals were among those wounded when the student opened fire, shooting dead 14 people before killing himself.
Interior minister Vit Rakusan said all 14 who died in Thursday’s attack have now been identified.
The Institute of Music Sciences confirmed that its head, Lenka Hlavkova, was among those killed.
The Czech foreign ministry confirmed two of the injured were from the United Arab Emirates and one was from the Netherlands.
Robert Hanus, an attendee at the vigil, said people should come together to make a stance against the attack. “This shouldn’t be normalised,” he said.
The university’s rector Milena Kralickova lit a candle, saying: “The academic community is shaken, deeply shaken.”
Petr Matejcek, the director of the police regional headquarters in Prague, said the gunman killed himself on the balcony of the university building when police officers approached him. His name has not been released.
Authorities have also warned that the death toll could rise.
Police have released no details about the dead and wounded or a possible motive for the shooting at the building.
Mr Rakusan said investigators did not suspect a link to any extremist ideology or groups.
Police chief Mr Vondrasek said they believe the man killed his father earlier on Thursday in his home town of Hostoun, just west of Prague, and that he had also been planning to kill himself.
He also said the gunman was suspected of killing a man and his two-month-old daughter on December 15, in Prague.
Police said the gunman had legally owned several guns and that he was heavily armed during the attack.