Police in Prague arrested a man who allegedly threatened to carry out a shooting at the Faculty of Arts at Charles University on Friday afternoon.
The incident sparked a major police operation in the city center, with officers securing the area and launching an urgent search for the suspect, who initially fled the scene.
According to Jan Daněk, a police spokesperson, the man entered the Faculty of Arts building on Jan Palach Square and displayed alarming behavior, making threats about shooting in the premises.
“We are actively searching for a man who exhibited abnormal behavior and spoke of shooting,” DanÄ›k informed Novinky shortly after 3:00 p.m.
Following the threat, the suspect left the area, prompting an intensive search operation involving dozens of officers in Prague’s historic center.
Police efforts led to the suspect being detained within half an hour of the initial report. The individual was reportedly apprehended shortly before 3:30 p.m.
Further details about the man, including his identity or potential motives, have not yet been disclosed.
V centru Prahy aktuálnÄ› pátráme po muži, který pÅ™iÅ¡el do budovy Filosofické fakulty UK na námÄ›stà Jana Palacha, choval se nestandardnÄ› a mluvil o stÅ™elbÄ›. Na mÃstÄ› jsou desÃtky policistů a hledajà ho. #policiepha
— Policie ČR (@PolicieCZ) November 29, 2024
Last year, fourteen people were killed and 25 injured, in a shooting at Charles University’s Faculty of Arts in Prague. The gunman, who began shooting on the fourth floor of the building, later committed suicide.
The incident was the worst fatal shooting in the country’s modern history.