(WNAM Monitoring): The Czech Republic has declared Saturday a national day of mourning after a gunman killed 14 people and injured 25 at a university in Prague, according to BBC. President Petr Pavel expressed his “great sadness” and “helpless anger at the totally unnecessary” loss of life.
The gunman, who police said had been “eliminated”, is believed to have also killed his father and may be linked to the deaths of two people last week. Police evacuated a different university building where the gunman had been expected to attend a lecture, but a short time later were called to the faculty’s main building nearby.
Of the 25 people wounded in the shooting, 10 were injured seriously, police said, adding that no officers had been hurt. In a statement, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said: “We are all shocked by this horrendous act. It is hard to find the words to express condemnation on the one hand and, on the other, the pain and sorrow that our entire society is feeling in these days before Christmas.”
He said Saturday would be a day of mourning, adding that flags would be flown at half-mast on all public buildings and that a minute’s silence would be observed at midday. They said the gunman was also suspected in the killing of a young man and his two-month-old daughter who were found dead in a forest on the outskirts of Prague on 15 December.
The attack had one of the largest death tolls of any mass shooting by a lone gunman in Europe this century: Founded in 1347, Charles University is the oldest and largest university in the Czech Republic and one of the oldest such institutions in Europe.
