Sick impersonators who were “inspired” by Prague shooter David Kozak and vowed to repeat his carnage have been targeted by Czech police

Copycats who were “inspired” by a mass shooter and vowed to recreate Thursday’s carnage in Prague have been targeted by Czech police.

Officials said David Kozak opened fire in a targeted attack at Charles University in Prague yesterday, killing at least 14 people and wounding more than 20.

The bloodshed, marking the worst mass shooting in the Czech Republic, took place in the school’s philosophy department building, where the shooter was a student.

The shooter also died, authorities said. His name has not been released, but it is widely reported to be 24-year-old David Kozak, who killed his father earlier in the day and is also a prime suspect in another double murder.

Now Czech police say they have found online messages from people expressing their intention to imitate the gunman’s deadly actions.

They work hard to act against the people behind the posts.

In a morning update, Czech police said they were monitoring online activity and said they had not released any further details about the shooter for this reason.

The less visible part of our job is to monitor social networks,” the police said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.

“Immediately after the shooting, teams of analysts began to investigate and investigate the various posts in detail. The perpetrators of the worst atrocities are given the opportunity to demonstrate their heroism in criminal cases.

Why is it important to remain silent at the right time and not demonize the shooter? “Since yesterday, we have registered several specific cases of people who (allegedly) were inspired by the terrible act and want to prosecute it,” the police said.

“We will respond immediately. If you report something like this in your area, please call 158.”

The update added: “As of today, we have taken nationwide PREVENTIVE measures regarding soft targets and schools.”

“We have no information about a specific threat and this is actually a prevention – a sign that we are here and ready.”

Later, the director of the Prague police said at a press conference that they had arrested a person based on messages published on the Internet.

Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan said investigators did not suspect any connection to extremist ideologies or groups.

A terrifying image shared in local media shows the man dressed in black pointing a gun at people below while standing on the roof of a faculty building

Other extraordinary footage shows terrified students crouching on a ledge high in a faculty trying to hide from the gunman after others were ordered to barricade themselves in classrooms

Police in Prague found a weapon believed to have been used in the attack

Martin Vondrasek, police chief, said the police believe that the gunman killed his father on Thursday in his hometown of Hostoun, west of Prague, and that he also planned to kill himself. He didn’t make it.

Later on Thursday, Mr. Vondrasek said that based on a house investigation, the armed man is also suspected of having killed another man and his two-month-old daughter on December 15 in Prague.

The chief described the shooter as an outstanding student — studying history — with no criminal record, but provided no further information.

Authorities have not released an official reason. However, Kozak herself was reported to have been inspired by a school shooting in Russia earlier this month in which a 14-year-old student killed her classmates and then herself.

“I want to participate in a school shooting and possibly commit suicide. Alina Afanaskina helped me too much,” he allegedly wrote in Russian on December 10 about the school shooter in Bryansk who killed two students before killing himself.

The chilling entry in what the author called her “diary” about “life before the shooting” continued: “I always wanted to kill, I thought I would become a madman in the future.”

Just five days after the disturbing news appeared online, a father and daughter were shot dead in Klanovice, a wooded area outside Prague.

More than 250 police officers were dispatched to search the area and a helicopter with thermal imaging cameras was used to search the wooded area, but the shooter was never found.

The shooting began at 3pm in the Faculty of Arts building at Charles University and police said the gunman was “eliminated” at 4pm after elite officers were seen storming the building.

Shocked friends of the dead man said: “I remember him as an intern of the camp and of the tourism department.” He was friendly and up for a joke.

“After school he focused on himself and started doing a lot of sports. On this occasion he met his future wife.

“This summer he told me how happy he was in his life. He said he has a beautiful wife, a child and much more on the way. What more can you ask for. He looked happy.

“Who would do such a thing?”

The police chief described the shooter as an outstanding student with no criminal record, but gave no further information.

The gunman suffered “devastating injuries,” but it was not clear whether he committed suicide or was shot in a shootout with officers, Mr. Vondrasek said, adding: “There was no evidence that he had an accomplice.”

The shooter legally owned several weapons — police said Thursday he was heavily armed and had a lot of ammunition — and that what he did was “a well-thought-out, terrible act,” Vondrasek said.

The university authorities have announced that they will tighten security on the university campus with immediate effect.

A university faculty member, Zora Hesova, said people were still locked in the building’s classrooms when armed police arrived at the scene.

“We mourn the deaths of members of our university community, extend our deepest condolences to all those left behind, and our thoughts are with all those affected by the tragedy,” Charles University said in a statement.

The building where the shooting took place is on Jan Palach Square, a busy tourist area in Prague’s Old Town.

It is within walking distance of the picturesque Old Town Square, a major tourist attraction where a popular Christmas market attracts thousands of visitors.

The government quickly sought to allay concerns that the massacre was supported by foreign interests.

“There is no indication that this has anything to do with international terrorism,” Rakusan said.

“This is a terrible crime, something the Czech Republic has never experienced before.”

Pavel Nedoma, the director of the nearby Rudolfinum gallery, said he watched from a window as a person standing on a balcony of the building fired a gun.

Authorities evacuated everyone from the building and police said they were still searching the area, including the balcony, for explosives.

The building is part of the square and faces a bridge over the river with a view of Prague Castle, the seat of the Czech presidency.

President Petr Pavel said he was “shocked” by what happened and offered condolences to the victims’ families as well as the leaders of Germany, France and Slovakia, the European Union and Israel.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre sent a message of condolences.

She said: “The president and first lady are praying for the families who lost loved ones and for all others affected by this senseless act of violence.”

“On behalf of the United States, we extend our condolences and wish a speedy recovery to the survivors of this tragic event.”

The Czech government declared a national day of mourning on Saturday to honor the victims of the shooting, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said.

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