A tragic mass shooting at a Charles University building in central Prague has shocked the city, with police revealing critical details about the suspect.
How David Kozak planned the Prague mass shooting
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The gunman, a 24-year-old student at the university, was found dead inside the building along with 14 victims, and at least 25 others wounded, 10 seriously.
While the Czech media masked his identity, only naming him ‘David K’, social media sherlocks uncovered his full name, David Kozak, a sadistic mass murderer who documented every step of his sordid plan.
Prior to the shooting, police president Martin Vondrasek reported receiving information about Kozak’s intent to take his own life.
He had left a trail of ominous messages on social media, including a diary on Telegram expressing his desire to kill and his inspiration from a school shooting in Russia earlier this month, committed by Alina Afanaskina.
The day’s events unfolded with the discovery of the gunman’s father’s body in a village west of Prague.
This was followed by the evacuation of one of the university buildings where the gunman was scheduled to have a lecture.
However, gunshots were reported in another building, the Charles University Faculty of Arts near Jan Palach Square, where the shooter was later found.
Vit Rakusan, the Czech interior minister, confirmed that armed police were on the scene within 12 minutes. The shooter’s body was found by 15:20 BST (17:20 CAT) with devastating injuries, though it’s unclear if officers shot him or took his own life.
Police described the gunman as a high-achieving student with no prior criminal record, who legally owned several guns.
They believe he acted alone, and there’s no suspected link to extremist ideology or groups. Interestingly, this was not his first suspected violent act, as police also believe he was responsible for the deaths of a man and his two-month-old daughter in east Prague earlier this month.
An onlooker captured footage of these harrowing scenes, showing Kozak indiscriminately shooting at targets from the top-floor balcony of the university building:
Regarding the context of mass shootings in Prague, gun crime is rare in the Czech Republic.
However, there have been a few notable incidents. In December 2019, a gunman killed six people in a hospital waiting room in Ostrava, and in 2015, a man fatally shot eight people in a restaurant in Uhersky Brod.