A police officer cordon off an area near the university in central Prague, on December 21, 2023. Czech police said Thursday a shooting in a university building in central Prague has left “dead and wounded people”, without providing further details.
Michal Cizek | Afp | Getty Images
A mass shooting in downtown Prague killed 10 people and injured about 30 others, and the person who opened fire also is dead, Czech police and the city’s rescue service said Thursday.
Police gave no details about the victims or the circumstances of the gunfire in the Czech Republic’s capital. They said officers were deployed due to a shooting at a school in Jan Palach Square.
The philosophy department of Charles University, which is located in the square, was evacuated, Prague Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda said.
Armed police are seen on the balcony of the university in central Prague, on December 21, 2023. Czech police said Thursday a shooting in a university building in central Prague has left “dead and wounded people”, without providing further details.
Michal Cizek | Afp | Getty Images
The police department said the square has been sealed off. It urged people to leave the surrounding streets and stay inside.
Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan said no other assailant was at the scene, but he urged people to cooperate with police.
Prague’s rescue service confirmed that 11 people had died, including the shooter. It said about 30 others suffered various injuries, including nine with serious ones.
An ambulance drives towards the building of Philosophical Faculty of Charles University in downtown Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023. Czech police say a shooting in downtown Prague has killed an unspecified number of people and wounded others.
Petr David Josek | AP
Pavel Nedoma, the director of Rudolfinum Gallery, which also is located in the square, told Czech public television he saw from a window a person who was shooting from a gun toward the nearby Manes bridge across the Vltava River.
Prime Minister Petr Fiala canceled his scheduled events and was heading for Prague.