The gunman who killed 14 people at a Prague university appears to have confessed to also killing a two-month-old baby and his father days before the mass shooting, police in the Czech Republic said.
Last week, the 24-year-old student, named by local media as David Kozak, opened fire at Charles University in the heart of historic Prague, killing 14 people and injuring more than 20, the Guardian reported.
At the time, the city's police chief, Martin Vondraszek, described the mass shooting as a "well-planned, horrific act" and said the suspect was believed to have killed his father as well before he began shooting random citizens.
Police said they found a letter at Kozak's home in the village of Hostone, near Prague, in which he appeared to confess to the previous killing of a baby and its father in a forest on the eastern outskirts of the capital.
"I can confirm that we found a letter in Hostun in which the university shooter confessed to the murder in the Klanovice Forest," said Jan Danek, a spokesman for the Czech police.
Kozak, who police say killed himself after being surrounded by police, is now believed to be responsible for the killings of 17 people. "Everything points to that," Danek said.
Authorities previously identified Kozak as a potential suspect in the woods murders after the 32-year-old father and his young daughter were found dead with gunshot wounds in mid-December.
Last week, police said they had evidence that appeared to link Kozak to the double murder. "Ballistics analysis proved that the gun used in the ... woods was identical to the gun found at the university shooter's home," X police said.
Czech police have not released a possible motive for the killings, saying the investigation is ongoing.
The search for a motive comes as the Czech Republic continues to recover from what is believed to be the worst mass shooting in the country's history.
Among those killed in the 20-minute attack were students, including an aspiring journalist and national athlete, as well as two teachers. The attack spread chaos and fear throughout the campus, sending students and faculty running down hallways and onto high building ledges, while others frantically barricaded themselves in classrooms.
With many people still traumatized by the attack, the country's interior minister said he had called on municipalities to postpone plans for fireworks on New Year's Eve.
"A few days ago we experienced two acts of violence involving shootings. The least we can do for those who have been painfully affected by these events is not to increase their nervousness or deepen the trauma left by the violence." wrote Vit Rakušan (Member of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic - note ed.) on social networks. "Let's wish 2024 to be as peaceful as possible and celebrate its arrival in a similar spirit"./BGNES
