Ten people have reportedly been killed and dozens injured in a mass shooting at a university in Prague.
The lone gunman shot dead ‘several people’ at Charles University in the centre of the city at around 3pm this afternoon, police said, with local reports saying at least 10 people were killed in the rampage.
A chilling image shared on local media purports to show the man dressed in black aiming a rifle at people below while standing on top of a faculty building, with witnesses saying the gunman was picking off his victims one by one.
Dramatic video showed terrified crowds of tourists and locals sprinting across the famous Charles Bridge – one of Europe’s top tourist sites – after they heard the sickening sound of gunshots in the city.
In separate footage, people were seen running with their hands raised in the air from the University’s Faculty of Arts building in the capital, as armed police officers swooped in.
Within minutes of the deadly shooting, elite cops were seen storming the building before the gunman was ‘eliminated’.
Other extraordinary images show terrified students cowering on a ledge high up on a faculty in a bid to hide from the gunman after others were told to barricade themselves in classrooms.
Dramatic video shows terrified crowds of tourists and locals sprinting across the famous Charles Bridge – one of Europe’s top tourist sites – after they heard the sickening sound of gunshots in the city
Images circulating online and in Czech media purports to show the shooter on the roof of the university building
Other extraordinary images show terrified students cowering on a ledge high up on a faculty in a bid to hide from the gunman after others were told to barricade themselves in classrooms
People can be seen running from a building in Prague
Armed police are seen on the balcony of the university in central Prague on Thursday
A faculty member of the university, Zora Hesova, said people were still locked in classrooms inside the building as armed police officers descended on the scene
A police officer secures the area following the shooting at one of the buildings of Charles University in Prague on Thursday
A faculty member of the university, Zora Hesova, said people were still locked in classrooms inside the building as armed police officers descended on the scene.
Police later said they killed the gunman after they stormed the building and are working to evacuate those trapped inside.
‘The gunman was eliminated!!!’ police said on X, formerly Twitter.
‘The building is currently being evacuated and there are several dead and dozens of wounded people on the scene.’
Terrified teachers and students at the Charles University Faculty of Arts were instructed to lock themselves up as police action was under way.
An email sent to staff and students at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University had said a shooter was in one of its buildings and had told staff to ‘stay put’.
‘Don’t go anywhere, if you’re in the offices, lock them and place furniture in front of the door, turn off the lights,’ the email said.
One student, Deda Mrazek, said she was in the university’s library when the gunman began shooting at his victims.
Sharing a picture of students hiding in the back of a computer lab, Deda wrote: ‘I am OK. I was in the library at the time of the shooting.
Read Related Also: Mia Tindall holds hands with Prince Louis as they join Prince George and Princess Charlotte at Sandringham church service on Christmas Day
‘They sent us to the back of the computer lab where there are no windows. Word has now spread that the gunman is dead.’
She said as soon as they heard the gunman had been killed, the terrified students all called their families to say that they were safe.
The police have sealed off the square and the area adjacent to the university building, which is located in a busy part of town that has a popular street leading tourists to Old Town Square
‘According to preliminary information, the shooter himself should be dead, there are dead and wounded on site, I will not speculate now about the final number,’ Interior Minister Vit Rakusan said on Czech Television.
Rakusan added ‘no other gunman has been confirmed’ and called on people to follow police instructions.
Police in the Czech Republic’s capital have urged residents to shelter inside and avoid the area due to the shooting.
Other extraordinary images show terrified students cowering on a ledge high up on a faculty in a bid to hide from the gunman after others were told to barricade themselves in classrooms
Other extraordinary images show terrified students cowering on a ledge high up on a faculty in a bid to hide from the gunman after others were told to barricade themselves in classrooms
One student, Deda Mrazek, said she was in the university’s library when the gunman began shooting at his victims. Sharing a picture of students hiding in the back of a computer lab, Deda wrote: ‘I am OK. I was in the library at the time of the shooting’
Armed police are seen on the balcony of the university in central Prague on Thursday
A police officer secures the area following the shooting at one of the buildings of Charles University in Prague
Police take security measures as several people were killed and injured in a shooting incident near a university in Prague
An armed Police officer patrols near to the scene of a shooting at Charles University in central Prague
Police in the Czech Republic’s capital urged residents to shelter and avoid the area ‘due to an ongoing shooting incident’ close to Charles University in the centre of the city
Police officers stand on the balcony of Philosophical Faculty of Charles University in downtown Prague, Czech Republic, after they stormed the building and killed the shooter
Police officers secure an area after a shooting in downtown Prague, Czech Republic, on Thursday
An ambulance drives towards the building of Philosophical Faculty of Charles University in downtown Prague on Thursday following the shooting
The British Embassy in Prague has urged people in the city, a hotspot for tourists, to avoid the around the Charles University and the Faculty of Arts.
Prime Minister Petr Fiala cancelled his trip to the east of the country and was en route to Prague, he said on X.
Gun crime is relatively rare in the Czech Republic. In December 2019, a 42-year-old gunman killed six people at a hospital waiting room in the eastern Czech city of Ostrava before fleeing and fatally shooting himself, police said.
In 2015, a man fatally shot eight people and then killed himself at a restaurant in Uhersky Brod.
This is a breaking story, more to follow…
