The gunman who killed 14 people at a university in Prague has seemingly confessed to the murder of a two-month-old baby and her father in the week leading up to the mass shooting at the university, according to police in the Czech Republic.
Named by local media as David Kozak, last week the 24-year-old student opened fire at Charles University in the centre of Prague. Kozak went on to kill 14 people and injure around 20 others.
Police said on Thursday that a letter had been found at Kozak’s home, which is located in the village of Hostoun, which is near Prague. In the letter, Kozak appears to confess to the killing of a father and his two-month-old infant in a forest near the outskirts of Prague.
Prague chief of police Martin Vondrasek had described the mass shooting as a "well-thought-out horrible act." The chief of police also added that the suspect was suspected of killing his father prior to the shooting at the university.
Jan Daněk, a spokesperson for the Czech police, stated, “I can confirm that we found a letter in Hostouň in which the university shooter confessed to the murder in the Klánovický forest." No further details were provided.
Kozak, who committed suicide as police closed in on him, is now suspected of killing 17 people after the discovery of his father's body and the note in which he admitted to killing a father and his infant daughter.
“Everything points to that,” said Daněk.
Police had identified Kozak as one of 4000 possible suspects in the forest killings. They also stated that they had found evidence linking him to the double murder.
Prague police have expressed regret at not getting to Kozak in time, especially after police last week stated that "A ballistic analysis proved the gun used in the forest was identical to a gun found at the university gunman’s home,” police said on X (formerly Twitter).
The Czech police have not released any possible motive for the killings, saying the investigation is ongoing.