Sick copycats who were ‘inspired’ by Prague gunman David Kozak and vowed to repeat his massacre have been targeted by Czech police
Copycats who were ‘inspired’ by a mass shooter and promised to recreate Thursday’s massacre in Prague have been targeted by Czech police.
David Kozak opened fire at Charles University in Prague yesterday, killing at least 14 people and wounding more than 20 in a calculated attack, officials said.
The bloodshed, which marks the Czech Republic’s worst mass shooting, took place in the school’s philosophy department building, where the shooter was a student.
The gunman also died, authorities said. His name has not been released, but it is widely reported to be 24-year-old David Kozak, who killed his father earlier in the day and is also a prime suspect in another double homicide.
Now Czech police say they have found online messages from people expressing their intention to copy the gunman’s deadly actions.
They are working to crack down on the individuals behind the posts.
David Kozak opened fire at Prague’s Charles University yesterday, killing at least 14 people and wounding more than 20, officials said
In a morning update, Czech police said they were monitoring online activity and explained that for this reason they had not released more details about the shooter.
The less visible part of our work is monitoring social networks,” the police said in a message on X, formerly Twitter.
“Immediately after the shooting, teams of analysts began detailing and investigating the various posts. The authors of the worst atrocities will be given the opportunity to demonstrate their heroism in criminal cases.
Why is it important to remain silent at the right time and not demonize the shooter? Since yesterday, we have registered several specific cases of people who are (allegedly) inspired by the terrible act and want to follow it,” police said.
‘We will respond immediately, if you report something like this in your area, please call 158.’
The update added: ‘As of today, we have taken nationwide PREVENTIVE measures regarding soft targets and schools.
“We don’t have any information about a specific threat and it’s really a prevention – a signal that we are here and we are ready.”
Later, at a press conference, the director of the Prague Police said they had arrested one person due to messages posted online.
Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan said investigators do not suspect a link with any extremist ideology or groups.
A chilling image shared on local media claims the black-clad man points a gun at people below as he stands atop a faculty building
Other extraordinary footage shows terrified students huddled on a ledge high on a faculty in an attempt to hide from the gunman after others were told to barricade themselves in classrooms
A weapon recovered by police in Prague and believed to have been used in the attack
Police Chief Martin Vondrasek said police believe the gunman killed his father earlier on Thursday in his hometown of Hostoun, just west of Prague, and that he also intended to kill himself. He didn’t work it out.
Later on Thursday, Mr. Vondrasek said that based on a house search, the gunman was also suspected of killing another man and his two-month-old daughter on December 15 in Prague.
The chief described the gunman as an excellent student – who studied history – with no criminal record, but provided no further information.
No official motivation has been released by authorities. However, it has been reported that Kozak himself was inspired by a school shooting in Russia earlier this month, in which a 14-year-old schoolgirl killed her classmates and then herself.
“I want to do a school shooting and possibly commit suicide. Alina Afanaskina helped me too much,” he allegedly wrote in Russian on December 10 about the school shooter in Bryansk, who killed two students before killing himself.
The chilling entry in what the writer called their “diary” about “life before the shooting” continued: “I always wanted to kill, I thought I would become a maniac in the future.”
Just five days after the disturbing messages appeared online, a father and daughter were shot dead in Klanovice, a forest area outside Prague.
More than 250 police officers were sent to search the area and a helicopter with thermal imaging cameras was used to search the forest area, but the shooter was never found.
The shooting started at 3 p.m. at the Charles University Faculty of Arts building and police said the gunman was “eliminated” at 4 p.m. after elite officers were seen storming the building.
Shocked friends of the dead man said: ‘I remember him as an intern from the camp and from the tourist department. He was friendly and up for any joke.
‘After school he focused on himself and started playing a lot of sports. On that occasion he met his future wife.
‘This summer he told me how happy he is in his life. He said he had a beautiful wife, a child and much more on the way. What more can you ask for. He looked happy.
‘Who would do something like that?’
The police chief described the gunman as an excellent student with no criminal record, but provided no further information.
The gunman suffered “devastating injuries” but it was not clear whether he committed suicide or was shot dead in a shootout with officers, Mr. Vondrasek said, adding that “there was nothing to indicate he had an accomplice.”
The gunman legally owned multiple guns — police said Thursday he was heavily armed and had a lot of ammunition — and that what he did was “well thought out, a terrible act,” Vondrasek said.
The university authorities said they would tighten security in university premises with immediate effect.
A faculty member at the university, Zora Hesova, said people were still locked in classrooms in the building when armed police arrived on the scene.
“We mourn the loss of life of members of our university community, extend our deepest condolences to all the bereaved families, 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 located on 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 a popular Christmas market attracts thousands of visitors.
The government quickly sought to allay concerns that the massacre was backed by foreign interests.
“There is no indication that it has anything to do with international terrorism,” Rakusan said.
“It is a terrible crime, something the Czech Republic has never experienced.”
Pavel Nedoma, the 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 views of Prague Castle, the seat of the Czech presidency.
President Petr Pavel said he was “shocked” by what had happened and offered his condolences to the relatives of the victims, as well as the leaders of Germany, France and Slovakia, the European Union and Israel.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre sent a condolence message.
She said, “The President and First Lady are praying for the families who have lost loved ones and for all others affected by this senseless act of violence.
“On behalf of the United States, we extend our condolences and wish the survivors of this tragic event a speedy recovery.”
The Czech government has declared Saturday a national day of mourning in honor of the shooting victims, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said.
Previously, the country’s worst mass shooting occurred in 2015, when a gunman opened fire in the southeastern town of Uhersky Brod, killing eight people before fatally shooting himself.