Prague police detain student threatening to shoot up school class

Police in Prague have detained an 18-year-old student who allegedly threatened to carry out a shooting at his school in the Prague 8 district. During a search of his home, officers found airsoft guns, air rifles, and knives in his possession, according to a statement released by Prague police today.|

The student had also publicly stated his intention to obtain a firearms license and repeatedly expressed approval of last December’s tragic shooting at the Faculty of Arts at Charles University (FF UK) in front of his classmates.

He is now being prosecuted on charges of making dangerous threats and endorsing a crime, which could result in a prison sentence of up to three years if convicted.

“Criminal investigators requested his remand in custody, but the court did not approve it. He will, therefore, be prosecuted while at liberty,” said Prague police spokesperson Jan Daněk.

Police said they were alerted to the student’s suspicious behavior after receiving reports in recent days. The 18-year-old, a student at a school in Prague 8, allegedly threatened his classmates, stating that he intended to “shoot up” the class and expressing explicit hatred toward some of them.

“He supported his threats by declaring that he intended to obtain a gun license,” added Daněk.

Police detained the student at his residence, where they discovered airsoft guns and air rifles. These items, which do not require a firearms license, are legally available for purchase by anyone 18 or older.

Investigators also found that the student had repeatedly praised last December's shooting at the Faculty of Arts in front of his classmates, allegedly stating that he would have committed the act in the same manner.

The December shooting occurred just before Christmas last year when 14 people—students and university teachers—were killed and another 25 injured at the Faculty of Arts' main building on Palach Square in central Prague. The perpetrator, a 24-year-old student at the faculty, died by suicide after the attack.

Earlier that day, he had killed his father in Hostouň, near Kladno in central Bohemia, and a few days prior, he had murdered a man and his two-month-old daughter in the Klánovice forest near Prague, according to police reports. The shooter had legally possessed numerous firearms.

In September at the beginning of the school year, hundreds of schools throughout Czechia and Slovakia received bomb threats.