(MENAFN- The Peninsula) AFP
Prague: The mourners huddled in small groups, many tearful or visibly shocked, as they gathered Friday to pay their respects to victims of the shootings at Prague's Charles University.
Students gathered at the small memorial as flurries of snow and rain took turns with the winter sunshine.
The day before, a 24-year-old student opened fire at the Faculty of Arts, killing 13 people inside the school before shooting himself dead.
He also wounded 25 people, one of whom died in hospital, bringing the total toll to 14.
All lights were on inside the faculty on Friday morning, with police guards still deployed outside the building sealed off with police tape.
A police officer is seen in front of the Charles University in central Prague, on December 22, 2023, police investigators kept working on the campus the day after a deadly mass shooting. (Photo by Michal Cizek / AFP)
Across the street in Prague's historic centre, not far from the iconic 14th-century Charles Bridge, dozens of candles were lit mostly by young mourners in the nearby large square.
"I have come to pay tribute to the dead students, especially because this could have happened to anyone," technical university student Antonin Volavka told AFP after lighting his candle.
"Really, it could have been me."
"It hit me really hard yesterday," said secondary school student Julie Grave, who added that she hoped to study at the faculty some day.
"I mourned with the whole family and I guess I'll be like that for a long time," she said.
"It's an absolute atrocity, and on top of that, just before Christmas."
'This is not America'
Older mourners, such as state employee Jana Mala, were equally shocked.
"It's something that has never happened here and it's a tragedy," she told AFP.
"When you realise your kids are the same age and that it can happen to anyone anywhere, it's terrible."
Italian teacher Monia Camuglia, who came with her daughter, had on Thursday feared for her colleagues and friends working at the faculty until she learned they were safe.
"I was at work and heard police sirens and it was simply incredible," said Camuglia, an Italian who has lived in Prague for several years.
"I was completely shocked."
Police chief Martin Vondrasek was equally shaken after visiting the crime scene.
Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan (L) and Police Chief Martin Vondrasek give a press conference in the Ministry of the Interior in Prague, Czech Republic, on December 22, 2023, to inform about a deadly mass shooting at a university the day before. (Photo by Radek Mica / AFP)
"I have been in service for 31 years and I have seen a lot," he told journalists. "But what I saw yesterday was the most shattering experience in my life."
A group of students at the memorial had come across the river from a local grammar school. It had cancelled a school concert in the wake of the shootings, giving them time to show up.
A security man stands behind a barrier tape as candles burn at a makeshift memorial for the victims outside the Charles University in central Prague, on December 22, 2023, as police investigators kept working on the campus the day after a deadly mass shooting. (Photo by Michal Cizek / AFP)
"I have come to express my sorrow over the disaster that happened here. It's something unexpected, nothing like this has ever happened in Prague," said 17-year-old Richard Smaha.
He spoke fast, struggling to keep his thoughts together.
"Of course it's a shock. (This) is absolutely unprecedented in the Czech Republic. This is not America, such things don't happen in Czechia. I think it's terrible."
MENAFN22122023000063011010ID1107649773
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.