The Czech Republic's worst mass shooter was sharing his sick murder fantasies online before he shot 14 people dead, it was reported.
The body of the suspect David Kozak, who was named by local media, was found in the Charles University building, where he was a student, after he went on a horror rampage. Prague Police Chief Martin Vondrasek said that 14 people had died and 25 were injured, but warned that the death toll could rise.
The 24-year-old had been musing about massacres and mass murder on social media in the weeks before, according to Czech local media. In one chilling post, he allegedly wrote: "I want to do school shooting and possibly suicide. I always wanted to kill. I thought I would become a maniac in the future." Vondrasek said officers had been tipped off that the gunman "wanted to kill himself" and said investigators were looking at whether the gunman had been "inspired" by a previous mass shooting in another country.
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. "We have very fresh unconfirmed information from an account on a social network that he was supposedly inspired by one terrorist attack in Russia in the autumn of this year", Mr Vondrasek told reporters on Thursday night.
An image of what is thought to be the gunman's weapon, recovered by police (CZECH 24 TV/UNPIXS)Haunting pictures from the scene of the bloodshed showed Kozak dressed in black and armed with a large rifle. The lone wolf had no criminal record but a reported interest in weaponry and legally owned his gun. The police chief described the shooter as an excellent student. It has since been uncovered that he had a bachelor’s degree in history and European studies, and continued with a master’s degree, focusing on the history of Poland.
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The gunman 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." One unnamed person told local media: "He was an introverted type, strange probably like any other nerd. The family seemed normal. We went to their cottage years ago. His dad used to be mine’s boss and they were friends outside of work, including his wife."
A member of the public is helped out near the building of Philosophical Faculty of Charles University in downtown Prague (AP)Vondrasek said police believe the gunman killed his father earlier Thursday in his hometown of Hostoun, just west of Prague, but didn't elaborate any further. The building where the shooting took place is 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.
Several Brits were caught up in the violence, including a group of boys on their "first lads trip." Joe Hyland, 18, from Truro, Cornwall, told the BBC: "We heard gunshots and ran for cover in the metro after police shouted at everyone to run. It was very frightening. We rang our parents straight away. This was our first holiday with just us lads."
Previously, the nation’s worst mass shooting was in 2015, when a gunman opened fire in the southeastern town of Uhersky Brod, killing eight before fatally shooting himself.
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