Student shoots 14 people dead at Prague university

Gunman also killed his father at home just west of the capital

- JANE DALTON ALEX ROSS

At least 15 people were killed yesterday and more than 30 injured in the Czech Republic's worst-ever mass shooting, at a university in Prague.

Police said the father of the 24-year-old gunman had been found dead earlier in the day and an arrest warrant had been issued for his son. Detectives are working on the theory that the killer was also responsible for the deaths of two people last week in the Klanovicky forest near Prague. They believe he chose his victims at random.

Armed police rushed to the university as witnesses reported seeing the killer firing from the roof of the Charles University faculty of arts in the country’s capital.

Scores of people fled the area around the university buildings, running down steps and cowering from the sound of gunfire in videos posted on social media.

Eight students perched dangerously in a crouched position on a ledge outside a high window in the faculty of arts building in a bid to hide from the gunman.

There were also unconfirmed pictures showing chairs being used to barricade doors inside the university building next to Jan Palach Square.

An email to staff at the faculty of arts of Charles University said a shooter was in one of its buildings and told staff to “stay put”. “Don’t go anywhere, if you’re in the offices, lock them and place furniture in front of the door, turn off the lights,” the message read.

Pavel Nedoma, director of the Rudolfinum Gallery, which also is in the square, told Czech public television how he looked out of a window and saw a man shooting a gun towards the nearby Manes Bridge, which spans the Vltava River.