The police have disclosed details about the recent shooting at Charles University's Faculty of Philosophy in Prague, revealing a chilling backstory involving the shooter, 24-year-old student David K. from Kladno.
David K. is suspected of killing 15 people at the university and then taking his own life. Adding to the tragedy, police suspect that on the same day, he also murdered his father. This is reported by Czech media Idnes.cz.
The police released a search notice for the armed David K. in the afternoon, following the discovery of a dead man in Hostouň near Kladno, identified as David's father.
"In Hostouň, a man was found dead in the afternoon, having died a violent death. In connection with this, we issued a search for another man, born in 1999, who is suspected of this violent act. Together with colleagues from Prague, we are investigating whether this event is related to the incident at the Faculty of Philosophy of Charles University in the center," stated the Central Bohemian police.
According to information obtained by MF DNES, David K. left the body in the house and then moved to Prague's Faculty of Philosophy. "I saw him entering the doors, I was just leaving. We passed each other," described one of the students to the editorial office.
Received award
David K. was a student at the Institute of World History at the faculty. In May this year, he received the Marian Szyjkowski Award, granted by the Polish Institute in Prague for works focused on Poland since 2018, for his bachelor's thesis.
The institute is headed by Professor Václav Hořčička, who does not have a distinct memory of David. "He was not my student, maybe I never even met him. And if I did, it was only briefly," Hořčička described.
The student who carried out the shooting at the faculty reportedly had psychological problems. According to the police, he was heading to a lecture that was supposed to take place on Celetná Street. Why he went to the building on Jan Palach Square remains unknown.
The police also confirmed that David K. had written notes on social media, suggesting that he had planned the killings. According to Police President Martin Vondrášek, "this person was inspired by a similar horrific event abroad."
