Prague university shooting: All victims identified as Czechs mourn 14 dead in Charles University attack

All 14 victims in Prague’s university shooting have been identified, the Czech authorities announced on Friday.

None of the victims were foreign citizens, interior minister Vit Rakusan told reporters. Czech Police have already contacted the families of the deceased and the injured, the minister added.

“Most of the injured are in stable condition, with one person currently in serious condition.”Lenka Hlávková, the head of the Charles University’s Institute of Music Sciences, was named as one of the victims of the attack.

National newspaper Lidovky identified its proofreader and student, Lucie Špindlerová, as one of the people killed in the attack.

Two citizens from the United Arab Emirates and one from the Netherlands were among the two dozen people who sustained injuries during the mass shooting in Prague, interior minister Vit Rakusan said.

At least 14 people were killed in a shooting rampage after a 24-year-old gunman opened fire at the Charles University in Prague on Thursday afternoon.

The shooter, identified as David Kozak, turned the gun to himself after being cornered by the city police.

The gunman behind the Czech Republic’s worst-ever mass shooting has been identified as 24-year-old David Kozak.

He lived in a village, located 20km outside Prague, and was a student of history at the university, authorities said on Friday.

He was an “excellent student”, Prague police chief Martin Vondrasek said, adding that the student legally owned several guns and was heavily armed during the incident.

Bodycam footage released by Czech Police shows officers turning up and entering the university building before scaling the steps in search of the suspect.

Officers are then seen searching classrooms before carrying injured victims on a stretcher outside.

You can watch it in full below. A warning, the footage may be be distressing to watch.

The director of Prague Police told a press conference on Friday that there was “piles of ammunition” in the corridors of the Charles University Faculty of Arts building.

He was responding to criticisim from people on social media who say police cornered gunman David Kozak too quickly.

He defended his officers, saying they had a challenging job to first locate the shooter, while protesting members of the public.

He said: “I can say that I believe the fast response and arrival of police officers on the scene prevented further bloodshed and further victims.

“What I saw inside the corridors, which were piles of ammunition, unbelievable quantities, if that person hadn’t been cornered in time he might, or might not of have continued.

“Given what I’ve seen and what he was prepared for I really need to thank my people for professional response.”

The identity of the gunman has now been revealed to be student David Kozák, who had reportedly been studying for a masters degree in world history with a special focus on the history of Poland.

Local media have reported that Kozák originally graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history and was described as an excellent student with no previous criminal convictions.

His father’s body had been found earlier in the day in his hometown of Hostoun. Police were already searching for Kozák at the time of the mass shooting in relation to another death in the village of Kladensko.

He is suspected of being responsible for the murders of a father and his four-month-old baby daughter, who were killed in a forest on 15 December.

At a press conference, police spokesperson Martin Vondráček said: “We are working very seriously with the fact that the attacker from the Faculty of Philosophy is also responsible for the two victims from the end of last week in Klanovicky les.”

12.26pm – Police received a call from someone saying her friend had sent her a suicidal text message, and was not responding to calls

12.40pm – Report of body found in the village of Hostoun. Search of home finds weapons.

12.42pm – Report of suspect who said he was going to kill himself was on his way to Prague

13.15pm – National search is declared for suspect.

13.27pm – Request for police to carry out search of Faculty of Arts at Charles University

13.49pm – More information received that the suspect is in the Faculty of Arts building

14.59pm – The shooting begins

The first victim of the mass shooting yesterday was named on Friday as Lenka Hlávková.

The Institute of Music Science at Charles University’s philosophy department posted a message of “deep regret” over her death on its Facebook page.

It read: “On the basis of verified information from the family and with their permission, we are announcing that our colleague and director of the Institute of Musicology of the Faculty of Music of the Faculty of Music, Lenka Hlávková did not survive yesterday’s attack.

“We express our deepest condolences to all the bereaved, first and foremost to the family. This is extremely cruel news for all of us. Let’s stay in support of each other.”

No other victims have been named yet.

Jiri Forman, a Czech journalist, witnessed yesterday’s attack at Charles University.

The reporter bravely shouted at the gunman from Jan Palach Square in an attempt to stop him from shooting at students and filmed the incident.

“Hey, you f****r, here I am, shoot here!” He screamed.

Asked by an officer what was he doing, Forman is heard in the footage shouting: “So that he doesn’t shoot at the people! What do you think I’m am I doing, man? There are people there!”

His actions have won him plaudits in Czech media, but Forman played down suggestions he was a hero.

“Where I stood it was absolutely safe, nobody was there and I knew I could duck behind an obstacle,” he told Reuters on Friday.

“And if he shoots in my direction, he won’t have the people fleeing, they will have a chance to reach cover. I screamed at him and he started shooting in my direction.”

“The policeman I believe shot three times at the attacker. I think this threw him off balance. Then he also hears that police are getting close from inside, so he shot himself,” Mr Forman said.

He added: “I did things I believed were right, and unfortunately, the sad heroes are the relatives who lost their closest ones at this Christmas time, and policemen and rescue services.”