White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre held a news conference Thursday following the attack by a lone gunman. opened fire in a university building in downtown Prague, killing at least 14 people and injuring more than 20 others in the worst mass shooting in the Czech Republic.
Watch the briefing in the player above.
The bloodshed took place in the philosophy department building at Charles University, where the shooter was a student, Prague police chief Martin Vondrasek said. The shooter also died, authorities said. His name has not been released.
Vondrasek said in the evening that 14 people were dead and 25 injured, after earlier reporting that 15 people were dead and 24 injured. He did not explain the change. The authorities have warned that the toll could rise.
Police did not provide any details about the victims or a possible motive for the shooting at the building near the Vltava River on Jan Palach Square. Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan said investigators do not suspect any links to any ideology or extremist group.
Vondrasek said police believed the gunman killed his father earlier Thursday in his hometown of Hostoun, just west of Prague, and that he had also planned to kill himself. He did not specify.
Later Thursday, Vondrasek said that following a search of his home, the shooter was also suspected of killing another man and his 2-month-old daughter on Dec. 15 in eastern Prague.
The chief described the shooter as an excellent student with no criminal record, but provided no further information.
The shooter suffered “devastating injuries” but it was unclear whether he committed suicide or was shot during an exchange of gunfire with police, Vondrasek said, adding that There was “nothing to suggest he had an accomplice”.
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The shooter legally owned several guns — police said he was heavily armed Thursday and carried a lot of ammunition — and that what he did was “well thought out, a horrible act,” Vondrasek said .
University authorities have announced that they will increase security in university buildings with immediate effect.
“We mourn the loss of life of members of our university community, express our deepest condolences to all those bereaved, and our thoughts are with all those affected by the tragedy,” Charles University said in a statement.
The building where the shooting took place is near the Vltava River on Jan Palach Square, a popular tourist area in Prague’s Old Town. It is just a few minutes’ walk from the picturesque Old Town Square, a major tourist attraction where a popular Christmas market attracts thousands of visitors.
The government quickly sought to allay concerns that the massacre was the result of foreign interests.
“There is no indication that this has anything to do with international terrorism,” Rakusan said.
“This is a horrible crime, something the Czech Republic has never experienced,” he said.
Pavel Nedoma, director of the nearby Rudolfinum gallery, said he watched from a window as a person standing on a balcony of the building fired a gun.
Authorities evacuated everyone from the building and police said they were still searching the area, including the balcony, for explosives.
The building is part of the square and faces a bridge over the river with a view of Prague Castle, seat of the Czech presidency. President Petr Pavel said he was “shocked” by what happened and offered his condolences to the victims’ relatives, as did the leaders of Germany, France and Slovakia, the European Union and Israel.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre sent a message of condolences.
“The president and first lady are praying for the families who have lost loved ones and for all those who have been affected by this senseless act of violence,” Jean-Pierre said. “On behalf of the United States, we offer our condolences and also wish the survivors of this tragic event a speedy recovery.”
The Czech government planned to meet later Thursday for an emergency session to discuss the shooting.
Previously, the country’s worst mass shooting took place in 2015, when a gunman opened fire in the southeastern town of Uhersky Brod, killing eight people before killing himself.
On Thursday, when tourists, students and others would normally have been able to enjoy the view of the iconic monument, chaos and terror took hold. Police vehicles and ambulances raced across the bridge with their sirens blaring. The officers cordoned off the empty place.
Some video footage showed people being evacuated from the building and others trying to hide behind a wall.
Ivo Havranek, a diving instructor, said he was near the building when he heard a gunshot, but he didn’t really believe that was what he heard.
“It was only when I saw the fully equipped riot police, with bulletproof vests and shields, that I felt like I was in a movie,” said Havranek. “But it was obvious that no one was making a movie.”
Associated Press video journalist Stanislav Hodina in Prague and writer Zeke Miller in Washington, D.C., contributed.