Concerning Posts From Prague Mass Shooter Found Online

Authorities are investigating posts left online by David Kozak, the 24-year-old behind the tragicPrague mass shootingson Thursday -- which some are quite concerning as they mention "wanting to kill" and wanting to "do a school shooting."

According to police, Kozak used Telegram -- a social media platform similar to Facebook Messenger, as a personal "diary" of his life in the days leading up to the shooting.

“I want to do [a] school shooting and possibly suicide,” one message read. “I always wanted to kill. I thought I would become a maniac in the future.”

Another one of those messages “indicated that inspiration for the attack may have been drawn from two previous mass shootings in Russia—one occurring this month at a school in Bryansk near the Ukraine border, and the second in 2021 in Kazan,” per authorities.

After seeing these posts, police claim the mass shooting was a “well-thought-out” act.

When asked if police were looking into David Kozak's history before the shooting, investigators stated, “No, I saw the procedure that we followed, and I’m convinced we haven’t made any mistakes. We were analyzing the data. The data indicated that he was one of the suspects, so I believe we acted in the correct way.”

David Kozak, the 24-year-old student who opened fire at a university in Prague Thursday, legally owned the guns he used in the mass shooting.

The 24-year-old opened fire from the fourth floor of the philosophy department building of Charles University, where the gunman was a student, Prague Police Chief Martin Vondrasek said following the tragic shooting.

In addition to the 14 people killed in the shooting, the 24-year-old also died by suicide, authorities confirmed.

“He was left with a shotgun which does not have long range, and when we were nearing the balcony he decided to commit suicide,” Petr Matejcek, director of the Prague regional police, stated.

According to police, David Kozak legally owned several guns and was heavily armed during the incident. He was described as an excellent student with no criminal record.

Kozak is also believed to have killed his own father before he opened fire at the university Thursday.

Jiri Forman, a Czech journalist, witnessed yesterday’s attack at Charles University.

“Where I stood it was absolutely safe, nobody was there, and I knew I could duck behind an obstacle,” he told outlets on Friday. “And if he shoots in my direction, he won’t have the people fleeing, they will have a chance to reach cover. I screamed at him, and he started shooting in my direction.”

“The policeman I believe shot three times at the attacker. I think this threw him off balance. Then he also hears that police are getting close from inside, so he shot himself,” he said, adding, “I did things I believed were right, and unfortunately, the sad heroes are the relatives who lost their closest ones at this Christmas time, and policemen and rescue services.”

Kristof Unger, a student at the University, spoke to CBS as she attended the candlelight vigil. "Few of my friends study at the philosophy faculty at Charles University," she shared, adding, "And they have been really traumatized by the shooting there and I just wanted to make them feel a little bit better."

David Kozak, the 24-year-old shooter, was also a student at the school. A motive is still under investigation. The Blast will continue to report on any updates surrounding the unfortunate events that occurred in Prague on Thursday, December 21.