A 42-year-old gunman killed six people on Tuesday at a hospital waiting room in the eastern Czech city of Ostrava before fleeing and fatally shooting himself in the head, police said.
It was unclear what motivated the shooting, which happened in the early morning at the outpatient clinic of the University Hospital in Ostrava.
Prime Minister Andrej Babis told reporters it was an “individual act”. “He came home and announced he had shot people, and that he is going to shoot himself,” Mr. Babis said. He said the attacker’s mother was cooperating with police.
The shooter fled the hospital after the attack, prompting a manhunt involving hundreds of officers. He later shot himself in the head in his car with a police helicopter flying overhead.
He died about half an hour later after failed efforts to resuscitate him, Interior Minister Jan Hamacek said.
The shooter was identified as Ctirad Vitasek, a construction technician, by the company’s chairman Ales Zygula.
Vitasek had been on medical leave for over a month and was convinced he was seriously ill and that no one wanted to cure him, Mr. Zygula said.
Hospital director Jiri Havrlant told reporters five people died in the attack and one died in surgery. Another two were seriously injured but no medics were hurt, he said.
Victims had been shot at close range, he said. They were all adults: five men and one woman.
The head of the regional police department, Tomas Kuzel, said the attacker, who did not have a gun licence, was silent as he carried out the shooting with a 9-millimetre Czech handgun.
The suspect had a criminal record including instances of violence and theft, he said.
Police dispatched two helicopters to hunt him. “When the helicopter was over the car, the perpetrator shot himself in the head,” Mr. Kuzel said. “He died from self-inflicted wounds.”
