At least 15 dead and 24 injured in a shooting at a college in Prague

Czech Prime Minister on shooting: "There is no justification for this horrible act"

The head of the Czech Republic Police, Martin Vondrasek, reported this Thursday that at least 15 people have died and at least 24 have been injured in the latest report after a shooting at a college in the center of Prague.

The attack took place in the Faculty of Arts of the Charles University, located in Jan Palach Square, and has involved the closure of the surrounding areas. The Police have announced on social networks the evacuation of the entire building.

As Vondrasek detailed in a press conference, the Police received information at 12:45 p.m. (local time) about a 24-year-old young man, a native of the Czech town of Houston, who was traveling to Prague with the intention of taking his own life. as reported by the CT24 chain.

Later, the Police received another notice about a dead person in the town of Houston. "We soon discovered that he was the father of the suspect," he explained, adding that the perpetrator of the shooting, who acted alone, is a student at the university and that he had a talk scheduled in a building on campus.

Vondrasek has also explained that the suspect, who allegedly committed suicide, although it seems that the Police also used their standard weapons to neutralize him, was inspired "by a similar event abroad."

For his part, Interior Minister Vít Rakusan has ruled out that the shooting is related to international terrorism and has indicated that the suspect had no criminal record. "He was a legal gun owner," he added.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala expressed his condolences to the families and friends of the deceased during a speech to the nation in which he stated that "many lives, mostly young people, have been lost completely unnecessarily." as reported by the Ceske Noviny news agency.

"There is no justification for this horrible act. Like many of you, I feel deep sadness and disgust at this repugnant violence," he said, adding that the authorities have the situation "under control", so citizens "are not in any danger." ".

Previously, Fiala had announced the cancellation of his official agenda in the city of Olomouc and his return to the capital in light of the "tragic events" of this Thursday and had asked citizens to follow the recommendations of the Police.

The president of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, who has returned to the country urgently from a business trip from France, has also expressed his condolences to the family and friends of the victims in a message on the social network X.

After the evacuation of the building, the agents carried out an exhaustive search to identify possible explosive devices, although they ended the operation when they did not find anything suspicious. The Police have urged the population not to spread videos or unverified information.