Prague is in disbelief and terror following the 14-person "senseless" shooting attack.

Prague awoke Friday to horror and amazement after a shooter murdered 14 people and injured 25 more at Charles University, the Czech Republic's bloodiest peacetime incident in its history.

The tragic tragedy on Thursday was also the Czech Republic's first school or college shooting, which shook the country and its senior leaders.

On Friday morning, Prague, which had been a joyous winter paradise just 24 hours before, was sombre and desolate. People came to pay their respects from early in the morning, amid heavy snow and rain, at a makeshift monument of lights and flowers built up overnight at the university's historical offices.

In a speech to the country on Thursday, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala termed the shooting "a senseless attack" and predicted that "this Christmas will be unimaginably sad."

"Like many of you, I am feeling a deep sorrow and disgust over this incomprehensible and brutal violence," Fiala said in a statement. Czech President Petr Pavel expressed "deep sadness and also helpless anger over the loss of so many young lives."

Authorities suspect the gunman, a 24-year-old university student, committed himself, however Czech Police Chief Martin Vondráek stated Thursday evening that this had not to be officially confirmed.
The shooter has not been identified by police.

Authorities are still looking for a motive for the rampage at Charles University's Faculty of Arts building. The Faculty of Philosophy, as it is known in Czech, is one of the first colleges established when the university was formed in 1348. History, philosophy, art theory, and languages are among the subjects taught there.

As of Friday morning, 11 of the 14 victims have been identified, according to police.

The school's Department of Musicology confirmed that its director, Lenka Hlávková, was among those killed in the incident. Hlávková was a famous scholar in mediaeval Central European musical culture, and her death was described as "extremely cruel" by the department in a statement.

The identities of the other victims have not been made public.

According to a representative for the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, three foreign individuals were hurt in the incident on Friday. According to Interior Minister Vt Rakuan, two of the foreigners are UAE nationals and Dutch citizens.

According to the foreign ministry, all of those killed so far were Czech citizens.

What happened during the shoot
The police chief stated that authorities had information about the gunman before to the university shootings, stating that they got a tip that he was travelling to Prague from his local hamlet of Hostou with the purpose to commit himself.

A short time later, authorities received word that a man, thought to be the gunman's father, had been discovered dead in Hostou.

Vondráek stated that authorities were notified of the shooter's presentation at 2 p.m. local time and evacuated the building where the talk was scheduled. According to the police chief, officials subsequently received a report alleging a gunshot in a separate building.

Tourists flock to the area around the structure since it is close to important attractions. It is located close over the Vltava River from Prague Castle and a five-minute walk from the Old Town Square, where the city's famed Christmas Markets are held. The historic Jewish Quarter is only a few hundred metres away.

Czech officials are also investigating the possibility that the gunman is linked to a double homicide in Klanovice, a Prague suburb, last week, in which a father and an infant were discovered slain in a forest.

Vondráek stated that the gunman had a firearms permit and had many guns.
In comparison to the rest of the European Union, the Czech Republic has comparatively lax firearms legislation, however gun assaults are uncommon. To legally get a gun, a person must first receive an official firearm licence, which entails a medical examination, a weapon proficiency exam, and no prior criminal record.

More than 300,000 individuals have a legal authorization to own a gun, according to official police figures. In the Czech Republic, about 1 million lawfully held guns were officially registered as of 2022.