It’s an American-style scenario that happened in the Czech Republic. A student, David K. according to Le Figaro, opened fire at Charles University in Prague on Thursday, killing thirteen people before killing himself. The Czech police are trying to understand the motivations for his act and establish his profile. An update on what we know about this 24-year-old, author of the worst attack the country has ever seen.
A “discreet” boy
“Introverted”, “quiet”, who didn’t “talk much”. This is how the attacker is described by a former classmate, who graduated at the same time as him, quoted by the local media. A testimony corroborated by that of another student who attended it. The latter speaks of a teenager “very discreet, who did not speak to many people”, reports Radio Prague International.
Who hides a violent temper
A discreet profile which hid a violent character. At least it was another face that this student showed on social networks, and in particular on the messaging application Telegram where he did not hide his desire to have “always wanted to kill […] and maybe [se] commit suicide,” reports Le Figaro. Police Chief Martin Vondrasek said David K. had a “huge arsenal of weapons and ammunition.”
Unknown to the police but already wanted
The “mad shooter” as Interior Minister Vit Rakusan nicknamed him was unknown to the authorities, according to Martin Vondrasek. However, police began searching for the student even before the shooting, as his father was found dead in the village of Hostoun, west of Prague. The shooter “left for Prague saying he wanted to kill himself,” added Martin Vondrasek, refusing to confirm whether the shooter had actually killed his father. Police also suspect David K. of killing a young man and his two-month-old daughter in a pram during a walk in a forest in the eastern suburbs of Prague on December 15. The investigation into this murder remained at an impasse until evidence found in Hostoun linked the shooter to this crime.
Inspired by Russia
Citing a social media investigation, the police chief said the shooter was inspired by a “similar case that occurred in Russia,” without going into details. Still on Telegram, David K. confides in fact that he wants to be inspired by Alina, probably in reference to Alina Afanaskina, a 14-year-old Russian teenager who shot dead two people in a school in Bryansk at the beginning of December before killing herself.
Not linked to terrorism
According to Martin Rakusan, there was no connection between the shooting and “international terrorism” and the student acted alone.