At least 14 dead and over 20 injured, some seriously: this is the toll from the shooting that occurred at a university in the center of Prague.
The police - who arrived in force after the alarm was raised - confirmed that the armed assailant had been "eliminated". This is a 24-year-old student of Czech nationality, David Kozak: he opened fire with a rifle in the headquarters of the Faculty of Arts of Charles University, in the central Jan Palach square, with his face uncovered, dressed entirely in black.
It seems that the boy took up position on a balcony and started shooting like a sniper.
There was immediate panic among the students, who locked themselves in the classrooms or sought shelter on roofs and ledges.
A few hours before the raid , the young man's father, originally from a village about twenty kilometers from the Czech capital, was found dead . It would have been the same boy who killed him .
According to local media, on a Telegram channel created a few days ago the young man explained that he was fed up with life, that everyone hated him and that he hated everyone . A student of the same faculty that was attacked, Kozak said he wanted to take inspiration from Alina Afanaskina, a 14-year-old girl who killed a person in a school in Russia on December 7, 2023. "She didn't kill enough people, I will try to resolve it," the 24-year-old reportedly wrote.
The authorities exclude any terrorist motive, but what happened shocked the Czech Republic and all the other European countries.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni immediately sent a message to the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Petr Fiala, in which she «reiterates the strongest condemnation of all forms of violence, fanaticism and terrorism, highlighting that Europe has the duty to react and strengthen any useful tool to guarantee maximum safety for citizens ". Condolence was also expressed by the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella .
«I am shocked by the senseless violence of the shooting that caused several victims today in Prague. I express my deepest condolences to the families of the victims and to all the Czech people. We are close to you and we cry with you", the words of the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen .
(Unioneonline/D)