Prague University: Czech Republic declares day of mourning after gunman kills 14 in mass shooting
Prime Minister Petr Fiala said the country will hold a national day of mourning to honour the victims
The Czech Republic will hold a national day of mourning after a gunman killed 14 people and injured 25 at a university in Prague. Flags will be flown at half-mast on all public buildings, followed by a minute's silence at midday, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala confirmed.
The gunman, who was partly identified by the police as David K, is said to have been "eliminated" following the shooting at Charles University. The 24-year-old is believed to have killed his father while police investigate the suspect's links to another murder last week.
The Czech police president said that the gunman was a former student at the faculty of arts and that it is believed he was inspired by similar shootings that have taken place abroad. It is the nation's worst mass shooting since 2015 when a gunman killed eight in the town of Uhersky Brod.
The shooting began at around 3pm local time (2pm GMT) on Thursday at the university's Faculty of Arts building on Jan Palach Square. Staff and students were forced to barricade themselves in rooms during the attack as the gunman is said to have killed at random.
In a statement, President Petr Pavel said he felt "great sadness" along with "helpless anger at the unnecessary loss of so many young lives". He added: "I would like to express my sincere condolences to all relatives of the victims, to all who were at this tragic incident."
The Czech government declared Saturday (December 23) will be a national day of mourning.