At least 15 dead, 24 injured after shooting at Prague university: police

globalnews.ca:

A lone gunman opened fire Thursday in a university building in downtown Prague, killing at least 15 people and injuring more than 20 in the Czech Republic’s worst mass shooting, police and the city’s rescue service said.

The bloodshed took place in the philosophy department building of Charles University, where the shooter was a student, Prague Police Chief Martin Vondrasek said. The suspected gunman also died, authorities said. His name has not been released.

Vondrasek said 24 were injured, and authorities warned that the death toll could rise.

Police gave no details about the victims or a possible motive for the shooting at the building located near the Vltava River in Jan Palach Square. Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan said investigators do not suspect a link to any extremist ideology or groups.

Vondrasek said police believe the suspect killed his father in his hometown of Hostoun, just west of Prague, earlier in the day, and that he had also been planning to kill himself. He didn’t elaborate.

The chief described the suspect as an excellent student but didn’t provide any other information.

The suspect suffered “devastating injuries” but it wasn’t clear if he killed himself or was shot to death in an exchange of gunfire with officers, Vondrasek said, adding that there was “nothing to suggest that he had an accomplice.”

The suspect legally owned several guns, and what he did was “well thought out, a horrible act,” Vondrasek said.

The building where the shooting took place is located near the Vltava River in Jan Palach Square, a busy 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 thousands of visitors have been enjoying a popular