Prague Mass Shooting Leaves 15 Dead, Horrific Video Surfaces

A man opened fire in a university building in downtown Prague on Thursday, killing 15 people. A motive for the shooting remains unclear.

This is one of the Czech Republic’s worst mass shootings in history.

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According to eyewitnesses, the man opened fire in the philosophy department building of Charles University. The shooter has been confirmed to be a student at the school, Prague Police Chief Martin Vondrasek said. He has not been named publicly.

At this time, police did not give any details about the victims or a possible motive for the shooting. Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan said investigators do not suspect a link to any extremist ideology or groups, according to AP News.

In a video shared on Instagram, students were seen hiding on an awning on the outside of the building for safety.

U.S. Embassy Prague took to social media at the time of the shooting. "There is an active shooter situation in the vicinity of the Charles University Philosophy Faculty building near Jan Palach Park in Prague," they wrote. "Police reportedly have the situation contained, but the area remains locked down. You are advised to avoid this area of Prague for the remainder of the day. Monitor local media for updates."

In a later update, "Czech police confirm the shooter is dead, and the situation is contained. Police report several dead and injured. Please continue to avoid the area for the remainder of the evening."

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Pavel Nedoma, the director of the nearby Rudolfinum Gallery, said he saw a person standing on a balcony of the building and shooting a gun.

Police are still searching the area for possible explosives. The building was evacuated, according to Prague Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda. President Petr Pavel said he was “shocked” by what happened.

Police vehicles and ambulances sped across the bridge with their sirens blaring as they responded to the mass shooting.

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"Footage shows students hiding on a ledge during an ongoing mass shooting in University in Prague," one user shared on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

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In another video, gunshots can be heard.

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Katerina Vodvarkova, a foreign news reporter at TV Nova was near the university when the mass shooting occurred. "Personally I never experienced anything like this in Prague. I watched students being evacuated and I had tears in my eyes that they had to witness this," she told BBC. "This is the busiest season for Prague, where we have our most famous Christmas market. It breaks my heart that visitors have to witness this."

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Petr Nedoma, director of the Rudolfinum Gallery at a concert hall across Palach Square, told Czech TV he saw the shooter. "I saw a young person on the gallery who had some weapon in his hand, like and automatic weapon, and shooting toward the Manes Bridge. Repeatedly, with some interruptions, then I saw as he shot, put hands up and threw the weapon down on the street, it lay there on the pedestrian crossing," he said.

At this time, 15 people are confirmed to be dead, with 30 more injured. Up to 200 students were moved to safety.

Police said the father of the shooter, who was a student at the faculty, was found dead earlier on Thursday.

This is a developing story.