With flags at half-mast on public buildings , special services in churches and a minute's silence scheduled at midday with the ringing of bells in every church in the country, the Czech Republic today gathers in a day of mourning to remember the 14 victims of the massacre carried out with automatic weapons on Thursday at Charles University in Prague by student David Kozak , who later committed suicide.
“It is difficult to find the words to express on the one hand the condemnation, and on the other the pain and suffering that our entire society is suffering in these days before Christmas,” declared the Czech Prime Minister, Petr Fiala.
While the names of the people killed by the bullets fired by the 24-year-old philosophy student are gradually being made known , students and citizens continue to pay their respects with hundreds of candles and flowers in front of the University's Faculty of Letters and Philosophy building. Karlova , on Jan Palach Square, in the Old Town of Prague.
The police have arrested four people in the last few hours, trying to prevent a repeat of Thursday's senseless attack .
The Interior Minister, Vit Rakusan, ruled out any connection between Kozak and international terrorism, reiterating that the young man acted on his own initiative and alone.
A total of 25 people were injured , including several passers-by, including a Dutch citizen and two from the United Arab Emirates.
(Unioneonline/vl)
