Prague, Czech Republic (CNN) — A shooter killed at least 14 people and wounded 25 others at a university in Prague on Thursday in one of the Czech Republic’s worst mass shootings in decades.
Czech Police Chief Martin Vondrášek said at a press conference on Thursday evening the information he had received so far indicated the shooter took his own life, but added it was not yet confirmed. He also said the suspect had not been formally identified because of the severity of his injuries.
In a later news conference Thursday night, Vondrášek revised the number of people killed to 14, after previously saying 15 people had died. Of the 25 people injured, 10 were in serious condition, the police chief said.
Emergency services earlier told CNN nine people had been severely injured, five or six received medium-severe injuries and 10 were lightly injured. The authorities have also revised down an earlier number of people injured, but said those could still change given the developing situation.
Some students locked themselves in classrooms during the shooting, police said in an update on X, formerly known as Twitter. A picture shared on social media also showed several students hiding on a ledge high up the building.
The incident – at the Faculty of Arts building of Charles University – happened in the center of the capital. The area is popular with tourists and close to major attractions, just across the Vltava River from Prague Castle.
The university was holding classes on Thursday and was due to go on Christmas break on December 23, according to a schedule on the university’ s website.
Vondrášek said the suspected shooter was a 24-year-old male, who traveled to Prague from his hometown village of Hostouň. Vondrášek said the suspected shooter was a student of the Faculty of Arts at Charles University in Prague.
The police chief said the authorities had information about the shooter prior to the incident, saying the police received a tip saying the shooter was travellng to Prague with the intention to take his own life. Shortly afterward, they received information a deceased man was found in Hostouň . The man is believed to be the suspect’s father.
Vondrášek said the police were aware the shooter had a lecture at 2 p.m. CET and therefore evacuated the building where the lecture was meant to take place. However, the police then received a call about a shooting in a different building, according to the police chief.
The suspected shooter had a gun permit and owned several weapons, Vondrá šek said.
The Czech Republic has relatively liberal gun laws compared to the rest of the European Union. To obtain a gun legally, a person needs an official firearm license, which requires a medical examination, a weapon proficiency exam and no previous criminal record.
According to official police statistics, more than 300,000 people have a legal permit to own a gun. As of 2022, almost 1 million legally owned weapons were officially registered in the Czech Republic.
Czech President Petr Pavel said he was “shocked” by the shooting in a post on X.
“I would like to express my deep sorrow and sincere condolences to the families and relatives of the victims of the shooting,” he wrote.
The country’s Prime Minister Petr Fiala said he had canceled his appointments and was heading back to Prague following the shooting. He also said authorities believe the shooting was a lone incident and there is no remaining danger. Interior Minister Vít Rakušan said the shooting was not an act of terrorism.
Charles University said it had tightened its security measures “with immediate effect” and canceled events at the university on Thursday and Friday. In a statement posted on X, it also “called for an adequate and sensitive approach to [Friday’s] possible exams or credit examinations.”
“We now ask everyone to try to remain calm and composed, and we again extend our condolences to all those whose hearts have been broken by the loss of loved ones,” the university said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed her condolences, saying she was “shocked by the senseless violence of the shooting.”
Gun attacks are rare in the Czech Republic, which has some of the most liberal gun laws in the European Union.
In December 2019, a 42-year-old man killed six people at a hospital waiting room in Ostrava in the east of the country before shooting himself.
