Prague mass shooting: Czech police try to uncover motive behind attack, PM appeals for 'sensitivity'

After a student opened fire in a university in central Prague, killing 13and wounding 25 others, Czech police are now trying to find the motive behind the worst-ever mass shooting witnessed by the country.

Czech President Petr Pavel has called for unity and said that people should not use such killings for spreading misinformation or launching political attacks. The victims, whose identities have not been disclosed yet, included the father of the gunman.

The government declared Saturday as a national day of mourning. Speaking over the incident, Pavel expressed his "great sadness" and "helpless anger at the totally unnecessary" loss of lives.

The shootout took place at the Faculty of Arts building of Charles University around 15:00 local time (14:00 GMT) on Thursday (Dec 21). The university is near Jan Palach Square, which is located at the heart of the Czech capital.

After entering the building, the gunman started to open firein the classrooms and corridors, as the students and staff used furniture to barricade themselves into rooms.

In some dramatic videos shared on social media, people were seen dangling from the university building's outside ledge before jumping to another part of the roof, which is several metres below. However, the shooterkilled himself after the university shooting.

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Czech prime minister appeals for 'sensitivity'

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, in a message to the citizens on Friday morning, appealed to them to show consideration and stop spreading unverified information.

“Dear friends, please approach the tragedy that happened yesterday at [Charles University Faculty of Arts] with sensitivity and consideration. Many people have lost loved ones and friends, and the depth of their pain and sorrow is hard to imagine. Also out of respect for them, please refrain from quick judgments and do not spread unverified information,” PM Fiala said.

Watch:Prague: Mass shooting in University building

"An investigation is ongoing at this time and it is in everyone’s interest to clarify and investigate the smallest details of what happened yesterday and what led up to it. Yesterday’s brutal attack affected our entire society, we are going through a painful and sad time, our thoughts are with those who were directly affected by yesterday’s tragedy,” he added.

Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan later said that the government identified 14 bodies, and they included 13 victims, which included the shooter. He said that there were no foreign nationals among the dead.

(With inputs from agencies)