Police have identified woman who set off false alarm in Prague museum

Update: Police say that thanks to media coverage, the woman has been identified. Further details were not disclosed.

An unidentified woman caused CZK 3 million in damage when she deliberately triggered a fire alarm system without any apparent reason in the New Building of the Czech National Museum in Prague. She faces up to six years in prison, the police wrote on their website. Anyone who recognizes the woman should contact the police, who are actively seeking to find her.

The actions of the woman, estimated to be aged between 20 to 25 years old, probably fall into threatening the operation of a public service facility, the police said.

“Forensic scientists are searching for the identity of a woman who visited the New Building of the National Museum in Prague at 4 pm on Thursday, March 31. However, she was more interested in the fire system of the entire building than the exhibits on display,” police spokesman Jan Rybanský said.

“After entering one of the rooms, she headed straight for the fire alarm button and pressed it. However, the button served to cancel and block an alarm, and therefore no activation or alarm occurred. In the next room, she incomprehensibly repeated her attempt, shattering protective glass and pressing a button,” Rybanský added.

“It instantly launched a fire extinguishing system that releases extinguishing gas, which expels air from the room affected by the fire, effectively eliminating the fireIt unnecessarily discharged fire-fighting gas into the room from two hundred-kilo kilo tanks, thus causing damage amounting to CZK 3 million,” he said.

CCTV footage shows the woman as she left the museum. Several visitors saw her, too. She is described as a young, rather small woman who speaks fluent Czech. She could live in the vicinity of the IP Pavlova metro station in Prague 2, according to camera records.