Czech Republic
Written by: Keyaan Rahman
Summary:
On December 21, 2023, a shooter opened fire at a university in the capital city of the Czech Republic, Prague, killing 14 and injuring 25 people before killing himself, according to AP news. According to CNN, 13 were killed at the scene and one died after being rushed to the nearest hospital. This has been considered the worst mass shooting in the history of the European country. The shooter has been identified as 24-year-old David Kozak, a student of Charles University, where the shooting took place. It is also believed, according to the Independent UK, that he also killed his father before carrying out the massacre. Along with this, according to The Guardian, he confessed to killing a baby in the woods, and police have evidence of him doing so. The country has since mourned the losses in the deadly shooting, as the country does not see incidents of mass shootings occur often. The country’s deadliest shooting was in 2015, when according to NBC News, a gunman opened fire in the town of Ubersky Brod and killed 8 people before ending his life.
Analysis:
According to Prague police, the shooter was a high-achieving student of the university and was supposed to attend a lecture at the building where the shooting took place. Prague police also said the 24-year-old had an attachment to firearms, having the license to own eight guns, including two long guns. He did not have a criminal record, which therefore did not bring the attention of authorities. Compared to the US, the Czech Republic is stringent on gun laws. According to the Associated Press, citizens seeking arms must be at the minimum age of 21, pass a medical examination, a multi-part weapon proficiency exam, and have a clean criminal record. According to the BBC, the shooter was able to access the rooftop of Charle’s University Faculty of Arts and fire rounds. The fact that the shooter was able to gain access into the building and onto the rooftop with a high-capacity rifle is astounding. This could be because of the country's infrequent encounters with mass shooters. The security in these high-risk areas for mass shootings must be stepped up, even in countries where these tragedies don’t occur often. Security measures like metal detectors and keycard scanners must be installed and maintained to ensure the safety of people.
Analysis 2:
One way to prevent another tragedy to this scale is to install preventative security measures. For this, funding must be directed to facilities that risk an attack at this scale. Funding can come from the college itself, government funding, or donations. The government must be able to help with the crisis and create preventative measures to stop a large-scale shooting. Another option would be stricter gun laws. While the Czech Republic’s gun laws are extremely strict already, a mandatory mental and psychological analysis can be implemented to flush out any buyers who are buying for the sake of causing terror. Whatever method is used to prevent another tragedy, we must hope that an attack like this slipping through the cracks can be prevented from happening again.
Call to Action:
Fourteen innocent souls were lost in the shooting, and families are struggling to cope with the losses. You can help these families who lost a loved one in the University shooting by pressing on the donation link below.
Czech Republic:
Charles University Foundation - This is the university’s endowment fund. They are running a fundraiser to help support the victims of the tragedy.
Choose how much you would like to donate (It is in Czech currency, 1 USD = 22.74 CZK as of 1/22/24)
Press “Send support”
Input your personal information and donation amount (in CZK)
Provide an address if a donation certificate is desired
Press “Donate”
This is a one-time (one-off) donation only.
