- With a one-day national mourning shortly before Christmas, the Czech Republic remembered the dead and injured after the devastating gun attack at Charles University in Prague.
- On public buildings such as schools and town halls, the flags flew at half-mast on Saturday and had a black band.
- At 12 noon, people observed a minute’s silence.
Church bells rang across the country. Most Advent and cultural events have been canceled. The television stations changed their programming.
President Pavel also present
A student killed 14 people in the main building of the Faculty of Arts at Charles University in downtown Prague on Thursday. According to the police’s initial findings, he then shot himself. He is said to have had an entire arsenal of weapons. Before this act, the 24-year-old is said to have killed his father and a walker and his daughter a week ago.
Legend:
President Petr Pavel and the other mourners during the service in St. Vitus Cathedral.
Keystone/Petr David Josek
A central funeral service was held in St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle, which was also attended by President Petr Pavel. A rose was brought to the altar for each sacrifice. “We all try to build a paradise on earth, but the reality of life shows us that evil exists,” said Prague Archbishop Jan Graubner.
He also called for consequences: “We are noticing an increase in depression and suicide among children and young people, but we are only talking about increasing the number of psychiatrists.”
First names of the victims known
People continued to lay flowers and light candles in front of the university buildings in Prague. Meanwhile, the first names of those who died have been announced. Among them is the head of the Institute of Musicology at Charles University, Lenka Hlavkova. The newspaper “Lidove noviny” also publicized the death of an employee who was studying sign language at the university.
Legend:
People are also mourning in front of the university buildings.
Keystone/MARTIN DIVISEC
Expressions of sympathy poured in from many parts of the world. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “Europe stands with you in this difficult time.” In the past, national mourning was declared in 2011 after the death of the former Czechoslovak and Czech President Vaclav Havel.