The Czech police said on Friday (Dec 22) that a student of Charles University in Prague who was responsible for the shooting at the institute premises on Thursday was also behind last week’s Klanovicky forest murders. According to a report by BBC, police said that evidence suggested that 24-year-old David Kozak killed a man and his daughter in the forest.
On Thursday, Kozak killed 13 people at Charles University before turning the gun on himself. The gunfire at the university’s Faculty of Arts sparked frantic scenes of students running from the attack that was the Czech Republic’s worst shooting in decades. Twenty-five people were injured in the attack.
The police were now seeking a motive in the killings. According to a report by the news agency AFP, the police said on Friday there was no longer any imminent threat. However, they were still seen guarding selected sites including schools as a preventive measure.
What happened during the Klanovicky forest murders?
Czech investigators found the bodies of a man and his two-month-old daughter in the Klanovicky forest near Prague. Local media reported that the double murders took place on Dec 15. Authorities launched an investigation and urged the public to help find the suspect.
A report by Prague Morning said that the murders occurred during a meeting in the forest, with evidence indicating a conflict between the two men. A witness, located 200 metres away from the crime scene, attempted resuscitation but couldn’t save the victims, the report added.
However, now the police said that David Kozak was behind the double murders.
Tributes paid to victims of university shooting
Meanwhile, on Friday, scores of people paid tributes to the victims of the Prague university shootings. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala also joined the mourners. The government declared a day of mourning across the country on Saturday to remember the victims, decided at a special cabinet meeting with President Petr Pavel.
(With inputs from agencies)
