Czech Republic mourns victims of Prague university mass shooting
Bells rang across the Czech Republic on Saturday and flags flew at half mast as the country mourned victims of the country’s worst mass shooting that killed 14 at a Prague university on Thursday.
Archbishop Jan Graubner served a mass at the main St. Vitus cathedral at the Prague Castle and the country observed a minute of silence at noon, with people stopping in streets amid heavy rain and snow, and in malls during Christmas shopping.
Police are working to uncover the motive behind the attack.
It is one of the deadliest assaults by a lone gunman in Europe this century.
Those killed in Thursday’s attack included Lenka Hlavkova, head of the Institute of Musicology at the university.
Other victims were named as translator and Finnish literature expert Jan Dlask and student Lucie Spindlerova.
The shooting began at around 15:00 local time (14:00 GMT) at the Faculty of Arts building off Jan Palach Square in the centre of the Czech capital.
The gunman opened fire in the corridors and classrooms of the building, before shooting himself as security forces closed in on him, police say.
US tourist Hannah Mallicoat told the BBC that she and her family had been on Jan Palach Square during the attack.
“A crowd of people were crossing the street when the first shot hit. I thought it was something like a firecracker or a car backfire until I heard the second shot and people started running,” she said.
“I saw a bullet hit the ground on the other side of the square about 30ft [9m] away before ducking into a store. The whole area was blocked off and dozens of police cars and ambulances were going towards the university.”
In a statement, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said the country had been shocked by this “horrendous act”.