The Czech Republic marked Saturday as the national day of mourning for the mass killing at Charles University in Prague. It was the worst mass killing in Czech history as 14 people, including young students and the director of the Department of Musicology Lenka Hlavkova.
The central European country was left shocked after a gunman opened fire on Thursday at the university’s School of Arts and killed himself. Authorities say the shooter killed his father before heading down to his university to carry out the massacre. The 24-year-old is said to have a proclivity for firearms. Police said the shooter, David Kozak, who was a history student at the university, had a license to own eight guns, including two long guns.
Unprecedented Horror: Czech Republic Rocked by First Mass Shooting of the Century
The Thursday mass shooting is being described as a first in the European country. Mass shooting are unheard of here. The police called it one of the deadliest assaults by a lone gunman in Europe this century.
The Czech Prime Minister Petri Fiala said the country has been 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.”
Archbishop Jan Graubner, who led a mass at the main St Vitus cathedral at the Prague Castle, said they are still very much in shock. “We need to clearly condemn what happened, but we also need to look into the future.”
Milos Vystrcil, speaker of the Senate, said it’s been a horrible experience for the country. “But it still can’t be compared with what the victims had to experience at the time of the attack and what their dear ones have to experience now. I think that to help them at this point we express our support and that’s what we’re all doing now.”
Prague Police Arrest ‘Inspired’ Shooter
The police was quick to arrest a young man who said to have been inspired by Thursday’s shooting. The man called the police and said he was inspired by the shooter and wanted to buy a gun and also kill. The authorities managed to identify the man and arrested him.
The Czech police have been on their toes since Thursday, having received calls by several inspired to shoot.
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