“This is not America, something like this doesn't happen in the Czech Republic!”: Richard Smaha, 17, expressed Prague residents on Friday, a day after an armed student's deadly journey left 14 dead at the capital's university. her dismay.
• Also read: The Czech Republic mourns after a shooting that leaves 14 dead
• Also read: Shooting in Prague leaves 14 dead, attacker found dead
“I came to express how sorry I am for the disaster that happened here. This is something unexpected, something like this has never happened before in Prague,” adds this student from a neighboring high school, who paid his respects in front of an improvised monument at Charles University.
“It’s a shock, of course,” he continues, his voice quick and clipped, reflecting his nervousness.
Dozens of people, mostly young people, gathered in small groups with serious, sometimes crying faces in front of this monument made of hundreds of candles and flowers, while snow and rain alternated with the winter sun in the historic center of the Czech capital.
A heavily armed 24-year-old student shot dead 13 people and injured 25 others on Thursday, one of whom later died in the hospital of this prestigious university. Czech police have ruled out the terror hypothesis and are still trying to understand the motivations of the shooter, who they say was inspired by a shooting in Russia.
On Friday, police officers were still on duty in front of Charles University, whose surrounding areas were cordoned off with caution tape.
“I came to pay tribute to the students who were killed, also because it could have been any of us,” said Antonin Volavka, a student at a technical university, after lighting a candle.
“Really, it could have been me,” he adds.
“Absolute atrocity”
Julie Grave, a high school student who said she was considering going to Charles University in the future, said she was deeply affected by the killings.
“It’s absolutely horrible and right before Christmas!” she cries.
Older people like Jana Mala, a civil servant, say they are just as shocked.
“This is something that has never happened here before and it is a tragedy.”
“When you realize that your children are the same age and that this can happen to anyone anywhere, it's terrible,” this woman adds.
Monia Camuglia, an Italian teacher living in Prague who is present with her daughter, explains that she was very afraid for her friends and colleagues who work at the university before learning that they were safe. “I was at work and heard the police sirens, it was unbelievable, I was completely shocked.”
Even Prague police chief Martin Vondrasek said he was in shock after this shooting, which, according to international rankings, took place in one of the safest countries in the world.
“I have been in the service for 31 years and have seen a lot,” he told reporters. “But what I saw yesterday was the most horrific experience of my life.”