Prague, Dec 21 (EFE).- At least 15 people were killed and 24 were injured in a shooting at a university in Prague on Thursday, Czech police chief Martin Vondracek said.
The assailant, a 24 year-old student at Charles University where the shooting took place, was among the dead, Vondracek told a press conference.
The police chief added that the assailant had committed suicide while he was being pursued by officers.
Police had earlier posted on Twitter that the shooter had been “eliminated”.
Nine of the injured were in a serious condition, police said.
Medical services warned that the death toll could still rise.
Radio Prague International reported that the shooting occurred at around 3pm at the university’s Faculty of Arts, on Jan Palach Square.
By 5:30pm, the entire building had been evacuated and the all of the wounded were taken to hospitals in the Czech capital.
Interior minister Vit Rakusan told local television that there “there is no imminent danger” to the public.
In a statement on Twitter, Czech President Petr Pavel said he was “shocked by the events” and expressed his “deep regret and sincere condolences to the families and relatives of the victims of the shooting.”
Students at the university posted images on social media of how they had barricaded themselves inside classrooms and the university library before authorities had started evacuating the premises.
The area has been cordoned off while police carry out their investigations. EFE
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