At least 15 people dead and 24 injured in Prague shooting, Czech police say

Police and the Czech Republic's interior ministry earlier said the suspect was dead, ITV News Correspondent Sejal Karia reports

At least 14 people are dead and 24 have been wounded, some seriously, by a lone gunman in Prague on Thursday.

Authorities have warned the figures may change as they continue to investigate exactly what happened, in the worst mass shooting in the Czech Republic's modern history.

Police and the country's interior ministry earlier said the suspect, who was a student at Charles University, where the attacks took place, was dead.

He has not been named publicly, but was described as an excellent student with no criminal record.

A bystander filmed the moment the lone gunman fires from the balcony of the Philosophical Faculty of Charles University in Prague

Officers sealed off Jan Palach Square and evacuated the philosophy department building of Charles University, which is where the shooting took place.

They are still searching the area, including the building's balconies, for possible explosives.

Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan said investigators do not suspect a link to any extremist ideology or groups, but did not elaborate on the motive behind the attacks.

Based on evidence found at the gunman's home, police also suspect him of killing another man and his two-month-old daughter on December 15, in the east of Prague.

Women attend to a person wrapped in a thermal blanket near the building of Philosophical Faculty of Charles University in downtown Prague. Credit: AP

Prague Police Chief Martin Vondrasek said police believed the gunman killed his father in his hometown of Hostoun, west of Prague, earlier in the day, and that he had been planning on killing himself.

He had legally owned several guns, and was carrying a large amount of ammunition in order to carry out what Mr Vondrasek said was "well thought out, a horrible act."

The gunman suffered "devastating injuries" but it was unclear as to how he died, Mr Vondrasek said, and added there was nothing to suggest he had an accomplice.

At least 15 people were killed by the shooter, who has also been confirmed dead, the Czech emergency services said. Credit: AP

Jan Palach Square is a busy tourist area in Prague's Old Town, and is just minutes away from the Old Town Square, which was full of tourists and residents enjoying the local Christmas market.

Chaos and terror replaced what was typically a festive scene in the city.

British man Tom Leese, 34, and his wife Rachael, 31, who are on their honeymoon in the country, were having a drink in the Slivovitz Museum, close to where the shooting occurred.

Mr Leese said: “A policeman came in and started shouting loudly in what I assume was Czech.

Tom and Rachael Leese are on their honeymoon in Prague Credit: Tom Leese/PA

“I asked for it in English and he said there was an active shooter and to stay inside and stay down.

“The staff were very calm, turned all the lights off very quickly and urged us to stay calm, the restaurant was relatively quiet.

“The policeman left urgently and we stood in the corner of the restaurant.”

The couple, from Merstham in Surrey, were kept in the the museum for over an hour, hearing sirens outside. They have since let their families know they are safe.

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