Victims of Charles University shooting memorialized on plaque
Bereaved families, scholars, and Prague community members gathered in Jan Palach Square a few days ago to honor the victims of Czechia’s deadliest shooting at Charles University’s Faculty of Arts in 2023. At the ceremony the group Spojeni nadějí (United by Hope) and university officials unveiled a plaque engraved with the victims’ names. The plaque, whose addition comes after grieving families requested it, stands next to the three-meter-high stone memorial sculpture established in June 2024.
The plaque lists the names of the 14 students and staff members who lost their lives on December 21, 2023, after a 24-year-old student went on a shooting spree inside the faculty. Twenty-five others were also injured.
Charles University Rector Milena Králíčková told Radio Prague that the tragedy has left a lasting impact and that the university had begun prioritizing safety education for students and staff.
The shooting also sparked criticism of Czechia’s gun laws. In December, the Czech Parliament tightened gun control with an amendment obliging arms dealers and shooting ranges to report suspicious clients, forerunning a massive overhaul of the gun law that will come into force next year.
