Police have released bodycam footage of officers storming a university building during an attack that killed 14 people and left dozens injured in Prague.
The 24-year-old suspect – named by local media as David Kozak - was 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.
He was due to attend a lecture on Thursday but instead opened fire at around 3pm, killing 14 and injuring 25 - ten seriously.
It is the Czech Republic's worst ever mass shooting.
On Friday, Police released footage of officers swooping on the university building and running up a flight of stairs in a bid to subdue to the gunman.
Students were told to barricade themselves in classrooms during the horrific assault.
Petr Matejcek, director of the police regional headquarters in Prague, told a press conference that the police fired back at the gunman after he shot and injured three people outside the building with a long-range weapon.
However, as officers started to approach, the assailant, who was armed with a shotgun, took his own life, according to Mr Matejcek.
Mr Matejcek added that they found “piles of ammunition” in “unbelievable quantities” at the scene. He said that the tragedy might have been much worse if not for the quick action of the police.
Mr Matejcek also revealed that a person who called the police, threatening to "emulate the attacker and begin shooting," has been apprehended by officers.
Witnesses said the attacker was picking off his victims one by one, while dramatic video showed terrified crowds sprinting across Charles Bridge - one of Europe's top tourist sites - after they heard gunshots.
Czech president Petr Pavel tweeted: "I am shocked by the events at the faculty of arts of Charles University.
"I would like to express my deep regret and sincere condolences to the families and relatives of the victims that the shooting claimed. I want to thank the citizens for respecting the instructions of the security forcesand providing maximum cooperation."
Gun crime is relatively rare in the Czech Republic. In December 2019, a 42-year-old gunman killed six people in a hospital waiting room in the eastern city of Ostrava.
And in 2015, a man fatally shot eight people and then killed himself at a restaurant in Uhersky Brod.
