This archive report was first published on 10 December 2019.
On December 10, 2019, a devastating shooting occurred at the Faculty Hospital in Ostrava, Czech Republic, leaving six people dead and two seriously injured.
According to Prime Minister Andrej Babis, the gunman allegedly shot people at close range, aiming at the head and neck, as they sat waiting in the trauma ward.
"I was told the dead were people sitting in the waiting room of the trauma ward, fortunately there were not as many as usual," Babis told the public Czech Television.
Police have released a picture of the alleged suspect, showing a man with thick black hair wearing a red and black jacket and trainers.
Earlier, police had posted a photo of a different man with receding ginger hair, saying he was "an important witness to the event," but later deleted the image.
President Milos Zeman also sent condolences, saying, "I'm with you in my heart, I'm thinking of you in these tragic hours," in a tweet sent out by his spokesman.
Gun rampages are rare in the Czech Republic, a country of 10.7 million people, with the last major incident occurring in 2015 in the southeastern town of Uhersky Brod.
