Czech Republic declares December 23 a national day of mourning after Prague university massacre

(Patria) - From today, we have adopted national preventive measures regarding sensitive targets and schools. We do not have information about any specific threat, and this is truly a prevention – a signal that we are here and that we are ready, the Prague police announced after the shooting in which 15 people were killed.

In the shooting at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University in Prague, 15 people were killed, including the attacker, and 24 were injured.

The attacker, 24-year-old David Kozak, a student at the faculty, randomly shot at his colleagues. This is one of the worst mass murders in the history of the Czech Republic. The motive for the crime is still unknown.

The Czech police announced that it was not an act of terrorism. It is suspected that Kozak also killed his father in the morning hours, in a suburb of Prague.

Media report that the attacker killed himself when the police arrived.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala announced that the country's government has declared Saturday, December 23, a national day of mourning.

"The government adopted a conclusion expressing deep condolences to the families of the victims, and we paid tribute to the victims of the shooting with a minute of silence at the beginning of the government session," Fiala said, Novinki reports.

He called on the citizens of the Czech Republic to pay tribute to the victims with a minute of silence on December 23 at 12 noon, adding that church bells across the country will ring at that time.