(PatriotWise.com) — A student at a university in Prague opened fire in a campus building last Thursday, killing at least 14 and injuring over 20, the Associated Press reported.
In what is described as the Czech Republic’s worst mass shooting, a student opened fire in the philosophy department at Charles University. The gunman, whose name was not released, also died.
Prague Chief of Police Martin Vondrasek said 14 people were killed and another 25 were injured. Police also believe that the gunman killed his father earlier in the day in the town of Hostoun, west of the city, and had been planning to kill himself.
While police offered no details about a possible motive, Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan said there were no suspected links to an extremist group or ideology.
Chief Vondrasek told reporters that after searching the gunman’s home, it is also believed that the suspect could be linked to the December 15 murder of a man and his 2-month-old daughter in Prague.
The suspect was described as an excellent student who had no criminal record.
According to Chief Vondrasek, the shooter sustained “devastating injuries” during last Thursday’s mass shooting. However, it was unclear if the suspect took his own life or was fatally shot by police.
Vondrasek said the suspect owned several firearms and arrived at the university heavily armed and carrying plenty of ammunition to carry out his “well-thought-out” and “horrible act.”
University officials said security would be tightened on campus with immediate effect.
The Czech government sought to allay concerns that the shooting was supported by foreign interests. Interior Minister Rakusan said there were no signs that the shooting had “anything to do with international terrorism.” Instead, it was a “horrible crime.”
The Czech Republic’s worst mass shooting before December 21 was the 2015 shooting in Uhersky Brod in which a gunman killed eight people before shooting himself.
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