The Czech Republic will observe a national day of mourning Saturday as the country reels following its worst-ever mass shooting. The gunman, believed to be 24-year-old student David Kozak, opened fire at Prague’s Charles University on Thursday, killing at least 14 people and wounding 25 others. He was confirmed dead at the scene. The shooter is also suspected of killing his father before the rampage at the university. Video shows a group of students balanced precariously on a building’s open ledge as they sought to escape the gunman. Kozak was reportedly inspired by recent mass shootings in Russia. This is a former student of Charles University, who was visiting her mother, who lives next to the school, at the time of the shooting.
Kristyna Borecka: “It looks like it’s something unprecedented in the country, and I think everybody is completely shaken. For us, it’s even worse because we’re locals and because we’re graduates of the Philosophy Faculty. We go there sometimes to visit.”