Prague: 24 Fatalities in University Shooting

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Facts

  • Fourteen people were killed and more than 25 were injured by a lone gunman at a university in Prague on Thursday, in the worst mass shooting in the history of the Czech Republic.1
  • The shooting took place at Charles University where the suspect, identified by local media as David Kozak, was a student. Authorities say that the gunman has been 'eliminated.'2
  • Police have not released any information about the victims or the motive for the shooting. Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan says that the suspect is not believed to have any links to any extremist ideologies or groups and investigators do not believe the shooting was tied to international terrorism.3
  • Police believe that the gunman killed his father earlier in the day in his nearby hometown of Hostoun. Authorities also believe that the shooter was planning on killing himself; although the suspect died of his injuries following the shooting, it is not yet confirmed if his wounds were self-inflicted or if he was killed in a shootout with police.4
  • Police have described the 24-year-old suspect as an 'excellent student' with no criminal record. Vondrasek says that the suspect legally owned several firearms and called his crime 'well thought out' and, 'a horrible act.'4
  • The Czech government plans to meet for an emergency session on the incident. University officials have said they would increase security around university buildings.3

Sources: 1BBC News, 2The telegraph, 3NPR Online News and 4France 24.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by The telegraph. The Czech Republic has some of the most liberal gun laws in all of Europe, with nearly 3% of the country owning firearms. The suspect legally owned the weapons he used in this shooting. Clearly, laws must change to ensure a tragedy like this never happens again.
  • Narrative B, as provided by CNN. Gun crime is relatively rare in the Czech Republic. In order to obtain a gun permit, Czech citizens must pass a test, undergo a medical observation, and have no criminal record. Authorities were unaware that the shooter intended to harm others and if they did, he would not have been able to obtain his firearms. This incident is a horrific tragedy within an overall well-regulated system.