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Prague: 24-year-old attacker helped by his girlfriend - murdered his father before killing 15 others

David Kozak allegedly killed a 32-year-old man and his newborn daughter a week before the massacre

Screenshot 4 11 PRAGUE

At least 15 people were killed and 25 injured yesterday in a shooting at a school of Charles University in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. The perpetrator, 24-year-old David Kozak, committed suicide after the carnage he caused, while a few hours earlier he had also shot and killed his father in the village of Hostun, about 20 kilometers from Prague.

Police are even considering the possibility that he may have killed two more people before the massacre in Prague. During a press conference, police announced that they are investigating whether the 24-year-old may be connected to two murders that took place last week. A 32-year-old father and his two-month-old daughter were shot dead in the Klanovicky forest near Prague last Friday, police chief Martin Vodrasek said, but it has not yet been confirmed whether Kozak actually had anything to do with the killings.

 

 

According to the police, Kozak planned to attend a lecture yesterday evening at the Faculty of Arts, a few minutes' walk from the Faculty of Philosophy. But the police, who were looking for the student since the afternoon, failed to find him there. He was on his way to the Faculty of Philosophy, where he opened fire moments later.

Videos released on social media show 24-year-old David Kozak going out on the balcony and opening fire.

Watch the video of the killer shooting:

 

He was helped by his girlfriend

David Kozak may have been helped by his girlfriend. Czech police confirmed this to a reporter from the Dutch Volkskrant who was at the scene. The girlfriend, about whom no further details have been released at this time, is said to be trying to flee abroad.

According to Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan, police found "a large number of weapons and ammunition" in the university building. "We could have had many more victims if the police had not acted so quickly," he said. It is noteworthy that the 24-year-old shooter had a license for the weapon with which he caused the tragedy. The investigation must now reveal how exactly he obtained this permission.

"There is nothing to suggest that the crime is linked to international terrorism," Vit Rakusan told reporters.

"I always wanted to kill someone"

According to testimonies, Kozak was a diligent student, but he also had psychological problems. In May he won an award for his thesis. The student had no criminal record but, as a legal gun owner, had an interest in guns.

He had a degree in history and European studies and continued with a master's degree, focusing on the history of Poland.

However, messages posted by the young man on Telegram in recent weeks paint a completely different picture of him.

The 24-year-old student of Charles University's School of Philosophy had complained about his "miserable life" and wrote, among other things, that he "always wanted to kill someone."

In a message dated December 10, the shooter wrote that he was "very inspired by Alina." He was referring to 14-year-old Alina Afanaskina. The girl shot and killed two people at her school in the Russian city of Bryansk on December 7 and then also killed herself. "But Alina didn't kill enough people, I'll fix that," Kozak had written.

"I want to attack a school and possibly kill myself. Alina Afanaskina helped me. I always wanted to kill, I thought I would become a maniac in the future. It was more profitable to mass attack than streak. I sat, I waited, I dreamed" he allegedly wrote among other things.

"He was an introverted guy"

Kozak would travel 13 miles from his home in Prague to lecture at the Charles University School of Art. He appears to have lived in the central Bohemian village of Hostun with his father in a large family home.

His murderous "paroxysm" began with the victim of his own father, who was found dead.

The perpetrator of the massacre in Prague

 

"He was an introverted guy, rather weird like any other nerd," a resident told local media.

“The family seemed normal. We went to their cottage years ago. His father was my boss and they were friends outside of work, including his wife."

Exactly what happened on the morning of December 21 is still unclear. What is established is that Kozak murdered his father before heading to Prague.

Czech police learned that he was heading to the capital and planning to kill himself.

The time of the attack

Scenes of madness went around the world, with students at the Charles University School of Fine Arts in Prague "hanging" and jumping from windows to escape the Cossack's murderous rampage.

"More than 15 people died and at least 24 were injured," Czech police chief Martin Vodracek told reporters. For his part, Czech President Petr Pavel said he was "shocked" by the attack.

"I am shocked by these events... I would like to express my deep sadness and sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims of the shooting," Pavel said in a post on X (formerly twitter).

The Czech police announced on Twitter that shortly after 15:00 local time (16:00 Greek time) their forces were mobilized for an incident that occurred at an educational institution in the Jan Palach Square of the Czech capital.

The gunman opened fire on the fourth floor. "The whole building was evacuated. There were numerous dead and dozens injured at the scene," the police initially reported.

In an attempt to escape the fire, some students climbed out of the windows and sat on the ledge, but one of the girls could not hold on and fell to her death, local media reported.

Interior Minister Vit Rakusan told state television that there was no other gunman and called on people to follow police instructions. Meanwhile, an email to Charles University School of Fine Arts staff said an armed assailant was in one of the university's buildings. The university administration was calling on staff to "not move". "Do not go anywhere, if you are in the offices, lock them and place furniture in front of the door, turn off the lights," the email said.

The police cordoned off the area and asked the residents of the area to remain in their homes.

Also, up to 200 students were rushed to safety on the way to a contemporary art gallery.

Students at the school, like students across Europe, were due to finish their academic semester today ahead of the Christmas holidays.

The "worst mass murder in the Czech Republic" since 1993

The worst mass killing in the Czech Republic since 1993, when the country became an independent state, shocked the world. Mass shootings with firearms are not common in the Czech Republic, but there have been a few in the past decade. In 2015, a 63-year-old man killed seven men and one woman before taking his own life inside a restaurant in the town of Uhersky Brod. In 2019, a man killed seven people in a hospital waiting room in Ostrava. The attacker committed suicide approximately three hours after the attack.

"Shocked" by the events, the country's president, Petr Pavel, said, expressing his condolences to the families and friends of the victims.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen sent a message of support to the families and the Czech people, while the presidents of France Emmanuel Macron, Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky, the US presidential couple Joe and Jane Biden and leaders of other countries expressed "solidarity" them to the Czechs.

"Devastated" by the news of the attack, said Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. In a post he made in English on X, Mr. Mitsotakis expressed on behalf of the Greek people "our deepest condolences to the families and relatives of the victims and our wishes for a speedy recovery to the injured."

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne expressed France's grief and solidarity after the deadly shooting incident that "hit the Czech people hard" at a Prague university. "I spoke with the Czech president Petr Pavel, and I express to him personally, on behalf of my government and, I have no doubt, on behalf of all of us, my support and my solidarity," the prime minister said while addressing the National Assembly.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni sent a message to her Czech counterpart, Petr Fiala, expressing her condolences to the families of the victims of today's deadly attack in Prague.

At the same time, as stated in a statement by the Italian government, Meloni "stands by the side of the injured and all the residents of the Czech Republic".

"The Italian Prime Minister condemns once again, in the clearest way, every form of violence, terrorism and fanaticism and underlines that Europe has a duty to react and strengthen every useful means, in order to guarantee the highest security of citizens", he concludes the announcement of the government of Rome.

Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Chancellor Olaf Solz and Foreign Minister Analena Burbock expressed their condolences to the victims of the attack in Prague, which left 15 people dead and at least 24 injured.

Addressing the president of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, Mr. Steinmeier says he was appalled when he learned of the shootings at Charles University in downtown Prague. "My thoughts are with the victims and their families and my best wishes for recovery to all those injured," writes the federal president.

Accordingly, Chancellor Olaf Solz expresses to Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala "on this painful occasion, on behalf of the German people", his sincere condolences. "We also express our sincere condolences to the families of the victims. We share their sorrow and feel their pain. In this dark hour, we stand by your side and by the side of the Czech people," says Mr Solz.

For her part, Foreign Minister Analena Berbock notes that "the attack in the center of Prague hits Europe in the heart", to add, addressing her Czech counterpart Jan Lipavsky in his language: "We mourn. Our thoughts and sympathies are with the families and friends of the victims. My condolences to you all."