Locals run to safety over iconic bridge as Prague school shooting leaves several dead

Czech police have said that several people have been shot dead after a school shooting in Prague.

A shooting in central Prague has left a number of people dead and dozens of others wounded, with footage from the city showing people fleeing over the Charles Bridge.

Police gave no details about the victims or the circumstances of Thursday’s (21 December) gunfire in the Czech Republic’s capital.

Interior Minister Vit Rakusan told Czech public television the person who opened fire was dead.

He said there is no other suspect at the scene and there is no imminent further danger but he urged people to cooperate with police.

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Police said armed officers were deployed due to a shooting at a school in Jan Palach Square.

The philosophical faculty of Charles University, located at the square has been evacuated, Prague mayor Bohuslav Svoboda said.

The police department said the square has been sealed off and urged people also to leave the surrounding streets and stay inside.

Jana Postova, a spokesperson for Prague’s rescue service, confirmed numerous people were injured but had no details.

According to The Independent, an email sent to members of staff at Charles University told them: "Don’t go anywhere, if you’re in the offices, lock them and place furniture in front of the door, turn off the lights."

The message had warned members of staff at the university to 'stay put'.

Police on social media confirmed that there had been casualties, and at 4pm local time (3pm in the UK) they confirmed online that the shooter had been 'eliminated'.

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A statement on X explained that there were 'several dead and dozens of injured' following the shooting.

Other images and videos from members of the public have been uploaded onto social media, including pictures of people fleeing a building with their hands raised.

Footage uploaded by @LeoMenindez shows many people running across the Charles Bridge before getting down to street level.

The Czech Republic's prime minister Petr Fiala announced on social media that he would cancel a trip and instead journey to Prague.

Reuters reports that gun crime is relatively rare in the Czech Republic, reporting that four years ago a gunman killed six people in a hospital waiting room in the city of Ostrava before fatally shooting himself.

In 2015 a man shot dead eight people at a restaurant in Uhersky Brod before taking his own life in the country's other previous mass shooting.