‘There was just disbelief’: Irish lecturer at Prague university describes fear and confusion as shooting unfolded

An Irish lecturer based in the university in Prague where 14 staff and students were killed on Thursday has described the sense of fear and confusion as the shooting unfolded.

Dr Conan Doyle (40), assistant professor of medieval English at Charles University, was grading papers in his office at the faculty of humanities shortly after 3pm when the shooting began.

“I was oblivious to anything ... I got a message from someone in the faculty saying the building had been locked down,” he says.

“We knew something violent had happened, news reports were coming in that they had closed off Jan Palach Square, which is a big tourist attraction.”

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It was only when the number of casualties began to emerge, as well as images of students clinging on to balconies, that the scale of the incident began to hit home.

“There was just disbelief at first. Then, I just felt a sense of nausea about everything. Everyone is struggling with the senselessness of it,” he said. “We will all take time to mourn, to care for those who remain ... it’s not really useful asking ‘why’. There’s no reason. It doesn’t make any sense.”

The shooting took place at the faculty of arts, a separate building which shares many of the same staff.

“This is a tight-knit community. There are members of my department who are split half-time between this faculty and the faculty of arts,” he added.

One of the 14 killed was Lenka Hlavkova, head of the institute of musicology at Charles University’s faculty of arts.

Another 25 people were wounded in the attack when the gunman – a student – opened fire in the capital.

He has been named locally as 24-year-old David Kozak, and is thought to have killed his father at a separate location.

At the gates of one of the university buildings on Friday, a shrine has been growing in memory of the those killed, with hundreds of small candles placed on the cobblestones in red glass holders as well as floral tributes.

Dr Doyle has been based in Prague since January 2022. He moved there after completing a PhD in Cambridge, having completed an undergraduate degree in UCD where he studied music and English.

He said the images of students leaping from ledges to save their lives was too upsetting to watch.

“For university students, they are at a stage of life where they are young adults ... as someone who teaches, I feel we have a duty of care to everyone. There are supports available for all ages, within the university and without it.”

He paid tribute to university management who were quick to communicate what they knew to staff and students and advised on security precautions to take.

“By 4pm, we were being told to exit through a back entrance; by 6pm they had evacuating the building ... We all have friends, loved ones in other faculties. People were very worried. This is a small city, about the same population as Dublin. You can imagine the impact if something like this happened in Dublin. It wasn’t just the university; the city has been affected,” he said.

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