Prague in mourning after deadly mass shooting – but survivor says city ‘will stand strong’
There is snow billowing around the heart of Prague and the skies are dark and threatening. But a small crowd of people are simply standing, and staring.
They are looking at the flickering candles and flowers that have been left in front of the Charles University building, a memorial to those who came here and were killed in the most brutal way.
From through the clouds of snow, Sergei Medvedev crosses the road, a thick grey woolen hat on his head and a bunch of flowers in his hand.
He is here to pay his own respects, but Sergei is not simply sympathetic to the suffering of others. He was there. Right there.
Read more on this story:
Prague mass shooting: What do we know so far?
Bodycam footage shows police storming university building
Sergei is a professor at the university, as well as a radio broadcaster. He is fluent and thoughtful; it’s not hard to see why he has prospered as an academic.
On Thursday, he was giving a lecture on the building’s third floor (“that corner over there,” he says, pointing) when he heard discordant noises.
He passed it off as a passing distraction. But then came the police sirens, and the creeping sense of danger.
Sergei Medvedev, a professor at the Charles University, as well as a radio broadcaster
Staff and students barricaded themselves into a lecture theatre with chairs and tables during the shooting
“There was shouting in the corridor, sirens everywhere, and we realised that something was wrong. We looked out and the whole square had been cleared; there were police all over the place.
“Then there were shots and we understood it was some kind of a terrorist act. So we blocked ourselves inside the auditorium; we took all the desks and chairs towards the doors to lock the doors.
“We turned out the lights and tried to stay away from the doors.
“At one point the special forces broke in, checked the room, then left. Then there was further shouting and shooting.
“Then an hour later the special forces came in for a second time, lay us on the floor and. Searched us rather gently.
“They took us out of the building walking down the stairs. There was blood all over the place – blood on the stairs, blood on the steps.”
It is a terrifying picture that he paints, yet here he looks composed.
People also climbed out on to a ledge to hide from the shooter
“Everyone stayed calm. Everyone behaved bravely,” he says, thoughtfully.
“There were a couple of dozen students in that room and I knew that I was responsible for them. When we ran, when we saw the blood – you don’t reflect on it then.
“You have your hands on your head and you are running for safety. It’s like seeing a movie of yourself. You just keep taking the next step. You keep moving.”
He is convinced that Prague will come together in the wake of this awful tragedy, but admits it’s a shock for those who have taken for granted this city’s reputation for being safe and peaceful.
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Video of police hunting Prague killer
“We will stand strong,” he insists. And then he is gone, to lay his flowers, look into the flames of candles, and remember those who have died or been injured.
These impromptu memorials have sprung up around the city.
People leave matches or lighters behind, as well as extra candles, for those who came to admire, but then decide they want to be involved.
And as we stand and watch, you can’t help but be struck by the number of people sobbing and hugging. The grief is thick in the air, more desperate because it was so surprising.
Giacomo, 20, is here with his friend Max, 16. Both are 20 years old, shaking their heads in disbelief.
People light candles on Jan Palach Square. Pic: Roman Vondrous (CTK via AP Images)
Pic: Roman Vondrous (CTK via AP Images)
“The guy was there,” says Max, gesturing towards the balcony where David Kozak stood and fired out into the street.
“He was shooting – I heard shots with the sniper [rifle] and it was crazy…I’ve never heard someone shooting before.”
Giacomo agrees: “We are very sad that this happened – that so many young people died, especially at Christmas.
“The idea that someone goes to the school and doesn’t come back – it’s horrible.”
And it is a dreadful thought, played out in the most horrible way.
The country feels broken.
World
Body of missing rabbi Zvi Kogan found in UAE – as Israeli PM says he was murdered in ‘antisemitic terror incident’
The COP29 climate talks have reached a last ditch deal on cash for developing countries, pulling the summit back from the brink of collapse after a group of countries stormed out of a negotiating room earlier.
The slew of deals finally signed off in the small hours of Sunday morning in Azerbaijan includes one that proved hardest of all – one about money.
Eventually the more than 190 countries in Baku agreed a target for richer polluting countries such as the UK, EU and Japan to drum up $300bn a year by 2035 to help poorer nations both curb and adapt to climate change.
It is a far cry from the $1.3trn experts say is needed, and from the $500bn that vulnerable countries like Uganda had said they would be willing to accept.
But in the end they were forced to, knowing they could not afford to live without it, nor wait until next year to try again, when a Donald Trump presidency would make things even harder.
Bolivia’s lead negotiator Diego Pacheco called it an “insult”, while the Marshall Islands’ Tina Stege said it was “not nearly enough, but it’s a start”.
UN climate chief Simon Stiell said: “This new finance goal is an insurance policy for humanity, amid worsening climate impacts hitting every country.
“No country got everything they wanted, and we leave Baku with a mountain of work still to do. So this is no time for victory laps.”
The funding deal was clinched more than 24 hours into overtime, and against what felt like all the odds.
The talks were rocked from the start by the incoming presidency of climate denier Mr Trump, the moment Argentina’s team were recalled back to Buenos Aires by their right-wing president and a controversial letter that sent shockwaves through the United Nations.
Pic: AP
The fraught two weeks of negotiations pitted the anger of developing countries who are footing the bill for more dangerous weather that they did little to cause, against the tight public finances of rich countries.
A relieved Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez, climate envoy for Panama, said there is “light at the end of the tunnel”.
Just hours ago, the talks almost fell apart as furious vulnerable nations stormed out of negotiations in frustration over that elusive funding goal.
They were also angry with oil and gas producing countries, who stood accused of trying to dilute aspects of the deal on cutting fossil fuels.
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Climate-vulnerable nations storm out of talks
The UN talks work on consensus, meaning everyone has to agree for a deal to fly.
A row over how to follow up on last year’s pledge to “transition away from fossil fuels” was left unresolved and punted into next year, following objections from Chile and Switzerland for being too weak.
A draft deal simply “reaffirmed” the commitment but did not dial up the pressure in the way the UK, EU, island states and many others here wanted.
Saudi Arabia fought the hardest against any step forward on cutting fossil fuels, the primary cause of climate change that is intensifying floods, drought and fires around the world.
Governments did manage to strike a deal on carbon markets at COP29, which has been 10 years in the making and will allow countries to trade emissions cuts.
‘Not everything we wanted’
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The UK’s energy secretary, Ed Miliband, said the deal is “not everything we or others wanted”, but described it as a “step forward”.
“It’s a deal that will drive forward the clean energy transition, which is essential for jobs and growth in Britain and for protecting us all against the worsening climate crisis,” he added.
“Today’s agreement sends the signal that the clean energy transition is unstoppable.
“It is the biggest economic opportunity of the 21st century and through our championing of it we can help crowd in private investment.”
Protesters at the summit in Baku. Pic: AP
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The Azerbaijan team leading COP29 said: “Every hour of the day, we have pulled people together. Every inch of the way, we have pushed for the highest common denominator.
“We have faced geopolitical headwinds and made every effort to be an honest broker for all sides.”
At least 20 people have been killed and 66 injured in Israeli strikes on central Beirut, Lebanese authorities have said.
Lebanon‘s health ministry said the death toll could rise as emergency workers dig through the rubble looking for survivors. DNA tests are being used to identify the victims, the ministry added.
The attack destroyed an eight-storey residential building and badly damaged several others around it in the Basta neighbourhood at 4am (2am UK time) on Saturday.
The central Basta neighbourhood in Beirut
The Israeli military did not warn residents to evacuate before the attack and has not commented on the casualties.
At least four bombs were dropped in the attack – the fourth targeting the city centre this week.
A separate drone strike in the southern port city of Tyre this morning killed two people and injured three, according to the state-run National News Agency.
The victims were Palestinian refugees from the nearby al Rashidieh camp who were out fishing, according to Mohammed Bikai, spokesperson for the Fatah Palestinian faction in the Tyre area.
Israel’s military warned residents today in parts of Beirut’s southern suburbs that they were near Hezbollah facilities, which the army would target in the near future. The warning, posted on X, told people to evacuate at least 500 metres away.
The army said that over the past day it had conducted intelligence-based strikes on Hezbollah targets in Dahiyeh, in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a strong presence. It said it hit several command centres and weapons storage facilities.
Pic: AP
Israel has killed several Hezbollah leaders in air strikes on the capital’s southern suburbs.
Heavy fighting between Israel and Hezbollah is ongoing in southern Lebanon, as Israeli forces push deeper into the country since launching a major offensive in September.
According to the Lebanese health ministry, at least 3,670 people have been killed in Israeli attacks there, with more than 15,400 wounded.
It has displaced about 1.2 million people – a quarter of Lebanon’s population – while Israel says about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed in northern Israel.
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‘Dozens’ of Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrike
Meanwhile, six people, including three children and two women, were killed in the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis.
Some 44,176 Palestinians have been killed since the start of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, according to the Gaza health ministry.
The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count, but it has said that more than half of the fatalities are women and children.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking another 250 hostage.
US envoy Amos Hochstein was in the region this week to try to end more than 13 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, ignited last October by the war in Gaza.
Mr Hochstein indicated progress had been made after meetings in Beirut on Tuesday and Wednesday, before going to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence minister Israel Katz.
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