AT least ten people have been killed and 30 injured after a gunman opened fire at a university in Prague.
Panicked crowds were seen fleeing for their lives with their hands in the air after the shooting at Charles University in the Czech capital.
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Terrified staff and students barricaded themselves inside their classrooms with piles of chairs and tables – while others desperately hid from the gunman on the roof of the five-storey building.
Emergency services confirmed ten people have been killed in the horror attack at the Faculty of Arts building Jan Palach Square.
They said the gunman – pictured on the roof of a building wearing dark clothing – had also been “eliminated”.
The square – located about 500m from the historic Charles Bridge, a popular tourist spot – has been sealed off and cops have urged people to stay inside.
A Brit dad on holiday with his daughter and Czech wife told The Sun: “My daughter said, ‘Dad, look up there, there’s a guy on the roof’.
“And all of a sudden it just went mental, it sounded like a load of firecrackers.
“I would have said about 30 people got shot. There was a guy lying dead on the right hand side of the square. He was shot in the chest.
“We just ran and we got to our AirBnB, which is four minutes away from the square.
“We’re now trying to get an earlier flight back to Gatwick.”
Charles University told staff to “stay put” and lock the doors.
“Don’t go anywhere, if you’re in the offices, lock them and place furniture in front of the door, turn off the lights,” an email to staff at the Philosophy Faculty said.
One student described “police officers with guns everywhere”.
They told CNN Prima News: “They kicked us out of the school yelling, ‘Hands up!'”
Another eyewitness said: “Some students were hiding on the walkway and someone fell from the roof.”
A witness inside the university building said the gunman was seen walking along the ledge of the roof.
Another student posted a photo of his classroom door barricaded with tables and chairs.
He said: “Currently stuck inside my classroom in Prague. Shooter is dead, but we are waiting to be evacuated.
“Praying to make it out alive. Locked the door before the shooter tried to open it.”
Petr Nedoma, the director of the Rudolfinum Gallery on Jan Palach Square, told ČT24: “I saw a young man… who had a weapon in his hand, a machine gun, shooting towards the Mánes Bridge.
“He fired repeatedly.”
Interior Minister Vit Rakusan told Czech TV that “no other gunman has been confirmed” and urged people to follow instructions from cops.
Prague’s mayor Bohuslav Svoboda said he was “completely shocked”.
“Please be careful. We will update as soon as we know more details,” he said.
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Imogen Braddick
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