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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Prague: First victims of university mass shooting named

A student and a faculty director have been named among victims of a mass shooting at a university in Prague.

Fourteen people were killed and at least 27 others injured when a student gunman opened fire at Charles University in central Prague on Thursday.

Police believe he took his own life after being cornered by officers.

Director of the university's Institute of Musicology, Lenka Hlávková, was on Friday named among the victims, along with student Lucie Špindlerová.

The 24-year-old suspect – named by local media as David Kozak - is said to have killed his father before shooting people at random from the balcony of Charles University, where he was reportedly a student at the Institute of World History.

The university's Institute of Musicology on Friday said "with deep regret" that its director Lenka Hlávková "did not survive" the attack, which marked the deadliest shooting in the Czech Republic's history.

Lucie Spindlerova (Lidovky)

"We express our deepest condolences to all the bereaved, first and foremost to the family," it said in a post on Facebook, written in Czech."This is extremely cruel news for all of us. Let's stay in support of each other."

In an article published on Friday, Czech newspaper Lidovky announced Lucie Špindlerová, who worked as a proofreader at the news outlet, was also among the dead.

It said Ms Špindlerová was a first-year student studying the Czech language in deaf communication.

"We express our deepest condolences to all the bereaved, especially the family," the newspaper said. "This is extremely painful news for us."

Minister Vit Rakusan said on Friday police in Prague worked overnight, and 13 of those killed had been identified.

The Czech Republic's Health Ministry said 27 people were admitted or treated at six Prague hospitals following the attack, many with gunshot wounds.

Of those, 12 on Friday remained in a serious condition and at least one in critical condition.

Three foreign nationals - two from Saudi Arabia and one from the Netherlands - were among those wounded, authorities said on Friday. 

Police have so far given no details about the victims or a possible motive for the shooting at the building located near the Vltava River in Jan Palach Square.

Mr Rakusan said on Thursday that investigators did not suspect a link to any extremist ideology or groups. Officials said they do not believe the killer had an accomplice.

The chief described the shooter as an excellent student with no criminal record.

Officers have also now linked him to the killing of another man and his two-month-old daughter on December 15 in Klanovice, near Prague.Police said the shooter had legally owned several guns - based on his home search - and that he was heavily armed during the attack.

People places a candles and flowers at a makeshift memorial for the victims (AFP via Getty Images)

Authorities said the 24-year-old suspect, who has not been named by police, had killed his father at his home outside Prague before travelling to the capital.

Police had received information from a friend of the shooter that he had intended to kill himself, and were searching for him at another university building where he was due to attend a lecture.

But he instead went to the main Faculty of Arts building, on a busy square across the river from the Prague Castle and just hundreds of metres from the Old Town Square, one of Europe's major tourist attractions.

They say he likely shot himself after police cornered him on a balcony and the suspect dropped his long-barrel gun. He carried multiple weapons with him, police said.

"He was left with a shotgun which does not have long range and when we were nearing the balcony he decided to commit suicide," Petr Matejcek, director of the Prague regional police, told a press conference, broadcast live on public television.

The police showed body-camera video footage of special police units storming the university building, searching corridors and rooms and administering first aid to victims.

The video also showed police on the roof carrying what appeared to be a body, and later, people leaving the building with hands raised above their heads.

Charles University cancelled all lectures and events on Friday.

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