Prague gunman had stash of legally owned guns say police, as Czech Republic mourns victims

Czech police are investigating the worst mass shooting in the country's history after a student opened fire on his classmates, ITV News' Chloe Keedy reports from Prague

A picture of the 24-year-old gunman who killed at least 14 people in the Czech Republic's worst mass killing has been released.

The attacker has been identified as university student David Kozak and is also believed to have killed his father earlier in the day and a man and a baby last week.

Police earlier revealed he had a stash of legally owned guns and was heavily armed during the attack.

A day of national mourning began across the country as police searched for a motive after the attacker opened fire on his classmates at Charles University in the centre of Prague.

The head of the university's musicology department, Lenka Hlávková, was the first victim to be named after her death was confirmed by the Institute of Music Sciences.

Czech police released bodycam footage of their operation during the attack in which 25 people were injured, including three foreign nationals, two from United Arab Emirates and one from the Netherlands.

Officials said 13 people died at the scene in the Faculty of Arts and one died later in hospital. 

Footage released by police of officers searching the university

Kozak died at the scene in Jan Palach Square, a busy tourist area. Police say it was not terror-related.

Petr Matejcek, the director of the police regional headquarters in Prague, said the gunman killed himself on the balcony of the university building when police officers approached him.

Police believe Kozak killed his father earlier on Thursday in his hometown of Hostoun, west Prague, and that he had also been planning to kill himself.

The gunman was also suspected in the killing of another man and his two-month-old daughter on December 15 in Prague.

President Petr Pavel expressed his "great sadness" and "helpless anger at the totally unnecessary" loss of life.

Mourners have been seen gathering near the university laying flowers and candles expressing their grief.

The police chief described the gunman as an excellent student with no criminal record, but didn’t provide any other information.

Police gave no details about the victims or a possible motive for the shooting but said they were investigating.

The suspect legally owned several guns — police said he was heavily armed Thursday and was carrying a lot of ammunition — and that what he did was "well thought out, a horrible act," Mr Vondrasek said.

Previously, the nation’s worst mass shooting was in 2015, when a gunman opened fire in the southeastern town of Uhersky Brod, killing eight before fatally shooting himself.

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