Three foreign nationals are among the wounded in a Prague university shooting that saw 14 killed

PRAGUE: Three foreign nationals were among 25 wounded after a student opened fire at a university in the Czech capital, Prague, killing 14 people, authorities said Friday. The mass shooting was one of the Czech Republic’s worst attacks in recent years.

Minister Vit Rakusan said police in Prague worked overnight and 13 of those killed have been identified. He also said three of those wounded were foreigners — two from Saudi Arabia and one from the Netherlands.

The bloodshed took place on Thursday at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University, where the 24-year-old shooter was a student, Prague Police Chief Martin Vondrasek said. The gunman also died, authorities said. His name has not been released.

Authorities warned that the death toll could rise.

Early Friday, with the scene of the shooting still sealed off by the police, people could be seen lighting candles to mourn the victims at an impromptu vigil by the university headquarters.

Police said Friday they have boosted security at schools and other “soft targets” — usually public facilities that are difficult to secure — in a preventive measure. University rectors also said they would work with police experts on more preventive measures to increase security around campus.

Police have so far given no details about the victims or a possible motive for the shooting at the building located near the Vltava River in Jan Palach Square. Rakusan said Thursday that investigators didn’t suspect a link to any extremist ideology or groups.

Officials said they believed he had no accomplice.

Vondrasek, the police chief, said they believe the gunman killed his father earlier on Thursday in his hometown of Houston, just west of Prague, and that he had also been planning to kill himself. He also said the gunman was suspected of killing a man and his 2-month-old daughter on Dec. 15, in Prague.