A gunman killed at least 15 people and wounded at least 24 others at a Prague university on Thursday before he was "eliminated", according to police and Prague emergency services.
Czech police responded to the shooting at Charles University's faculty of arts building in Jan Palach Square shortly after 3 p.m. (1400 GMT). Police said the father of the shooter - a student at the faculty - was found dead earlier on Thursday.
"We always thought that this was a thing that did not concern us. Now it turns out that, unfortunately, our world is also changing and the problem of the individual shooter is emerging here as well," Prague Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda told Czech Television.
An email sent to staff and students had said the shooter was in one of the buildings.
"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 email said.
One X user posted a photo of a group of students, hiding crouched on a ledge of the building.
Pavel Nedoma, the director of the nearby Rudolfinum Gallery, said he saw from a window a person standing on a balcony of the building and shooting a gun.
The building forms part of the square and faces a bridge across the river with a view of Prague Castle, the seat of the Czech presidency. President Petr Pavel said he was “shocked” by what happened and offered his condolences to the relatives of the victims.
Prime Minister Petr Fiala cancelled his trip to the east of the country and was en route to Prague, he said on X.
