10 dead, dozens injured in Prague university shooting; suspect killed

A member of the emergency service works at the scene of a shooting at Charles University in central Prague on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023. Photo by Martin Divisek/EPA-EFE

Dec. 21 (UPI) — Czech authorities said at least 10 people were killed in a shooting at a university in Prague on Thursday.

Czech police said Thursday morning that officers were responding to a shooting at a school in Namesti Jan Palach, adding the shooter has been “eliminated.”

“The entire building is currently being evacuated and there are several dead and dozens of injured,” police said.

The Prague Rescue Service said in addition to the 10 deaths that nine people were “seriously injured,” as many as six were “moderately injured” and 10 more were “slightly injured.”

Interior Minister Vit Rakusan told Czech public television the person who fired the shots was dead and that there were no other suspects at the scene.

The shooting happened at Charles University’s Faculty of Arts, near the Czech capital’s Old Town.

Police said some students locked themselves in rooms before the shooter arrived.

Jakob Weizman, who is studying at the university, posted on X that he was barricaded in a classroom.

“Currently stuck inside my classroom in Prague. Shooter is dead, but we are waiting to be evacuated. Praying to make it out alive. Locked the door before the shooter tried to open it.”

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