Prague gunman shot himself as officers approached him on roof – police.Friday, 22 December

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

As the darkness lifted in Prague on Friday, bright lights were still burning inside the Arts Faculty as they had through the night. The police cordon has now gone but the Charles University building is still a major crime scene.

The body of the 14th victim of the worst mass shooting in Czech history was only removed this morning.

Across town, at the gates of another university building, a shrine has been growing in memory of the 14 staff and students who were killed. People have been leaving small candles on the cobblestones in red glass holders and laying flowers.

The crowd huddled round in the sleet is mainly young, including many university and school students.

Lucy had brought a big bunch of white roses. “It’s the least we can do,” she said. She was at the law faculty when the shooting began, just a couple of hundred metres away.

Quote Message: They locked up and told us not to leave. There were lots of emergency cars and police. We didn’t really know what was going on. Now all we are talking about is that it could have been anybody. It could have been my friends. Anyone could have been a victim and that’s horrifying.”

They locked up and told us not to leave. There were lots of emergency cars and police. We didn’t really know what was going on. Now all we are talking about is that it could have been anybody. It could have been my friends. Anyone could have been a victim and that’s horrifying.”

The police have given an update on yesterday’s mass shooting. Here’s what they said:

• When the police responded to the shooting, the attacker was on the roof. He then shot and killed himself after seeing that police were encircling him

• The force has identified all 14 victims of yesterday’s attack, as well as the gunman
• The wounded who needed surgery have had it and are stable
• The police responded to criticism that about the speed of their response, saying there was four minutes between the first call and officers stepping into the building
• The director of Prague Police confirms that they saw piles of ammunition in the corridors
• The police says that their evidence suggests the university shooter was also responsible for the Klanovicky forest murders of last week, where a man and his daughter were killed

Authorities have now finished their statements and are taking questions from journalists.

We’ll let you know if any new information is shared, but in the meantime we’re going to craft a round-up of the key points we’ve just heard.

Stay tuned.

There’s a bit more to bring you from Prague Police now, who also used the news conference to talk about the 25 people injured in Thursday’s attack.

A representative of the city’s rescue service says those that needed surgery have had it and are in a stable condition.

Among the injuries were gunshot wounds to limbs, chests and heads – the official says that thanks to the emergency services and hospitals, the survivors should be able to overcome them.

We mentioned at the start of that news conference that police had released bodycam footage from yesterday’s attack.

It shows officers storming the university, and escorting students out with their hands in the air.

Take a look at some of the footage below:

It’s now the turn of the head of Prague Police’s murder department, who says their best crime investigators were working on the forest murders before yesterday’s shooting took place.

He confirms the shooter who carried out the Charles University attack was one of the suspects being investigated.

He apologises to the families of the victims, but says he believes police did “their best to prevent it”.

The authorities are now giving some more detail about the deaths of a man and his daughter in Klanovicky forest last week, which they say may be linked to Thursday’s killings.

The lead investigator says police have dozens, if not hundreds, of people working on the case.

All people in the area at the time of the killings have been found and excluded as potential perpetrators, he adds.

We’re now hearing from the lead investigator, who begins by giving a timeline of events.

He also confirms police are investigating the possibility that the gunman was connected to the murders of two people in a forest near Prague last week.

The director of Prague Police is still speaking – he’s now saying that he believes the fast arrival of police prevented more bloodshed.

“I saw piles of ammunition in the corridors, it was incredible,” he recalls.

He believes the gunman would have gone on to harm more people if he hadn’t gone to the university’s balcony, “where he eventually died”.

The authorities say they are now on alert for people who may be inspired by Thursday’s attack and are focussed on imminent threats – including on social media.

“We will try and distinguish between inane threats and real threats,” says the Prague Police director.

He adds that they will try and keep the public and media informed “in due time”.

The director of Prague Police responds to criticism about the speed at which his officers used their own guns.

“You should understand that it was an active situation,” he says, adding there were many people around watching as the situation unfolded.

He says police were conscious of causing more harm by using their guns too quickly: “It would be unfortunate if police used a gun and if there was an accident, and people … were killed or injured as a result of that accident.”

Officers used their guns when they were sure they wouldn’t hurt anybody else, he says, before stressing that police responded to the attack in four minutes.

“There were four minutes between the first call and the first officers stepping into the building,” he tells reporters.

The Prague Police director continues, saying the force has now identified all 14 victims of yesterday’s attack, as well as the gunman, and contacted their family members.

There have been slightly varying figures about the number of people who died – we’re looking into this now.

The director thanks psychologists and non-profit organisations who are helping them with supporting the families of the victims, officers and other people affected.

“I was there, I was severely impacted,” he adds.

Prague Police’s director is speaking now. He begins by saying police units were active outside the building, as well as inside.

The gunman was shooting at people on the outside of the building and injured three, he says.

He also explains that they were not sure if the attacker had accomplices, which is why the evacuated students had to come out with their hands up.

The authorities now explain how students had barricaded themselves into rooms of the university building – and police went floor-by-floor to get them out.

In some instances, police had to use force to get through and get students out, they say.

“We created a safe corridor and through the safe corridor, everybody was told to go outside,” the official tells journalists.

First aid was provided to injured people at the scene, police say, and an evacuation of the university building then began.

A police official shows more bodycam footage and explains that officers’ priority was to stop bleeding where necessary and provide immediate care.

Their aim was “to stabilise people to be able to take them outside to the ambulances,” he adds.

The police official leading this section of the news conference now says that when responding to Thursday’s shooting, officer received word that the attacker was on the roof of the university.

He says the gunman later shot and killed himself after seeing that police were encircling him “from all directions”.

This is reported to have happened at around 15:19 local time (14:19 GMT).

BBCCopyright: BBC

The press conference has begun – police are showing assembled journalists what appears to be bodycam footage from the officers who tried to intervene in the shooting yesterday.

In it, you can see people running away in the corridors of Charles University, where the attack happened.

Alongside this, a police official is explaining how officers responded.