The Czech interior minister has said there are several victims in a shooting at a hospital in the eastern Czech city of Ostrava.
Six people were killed in a shooting at Ostrava City Hospital in the north-east of the Czech Republic on Tuesday morning.
The attack occurred happened around 7 a.m. (0600 GMT). Police evacuated the hospital and were looking for a suspect.
Police published a photo they initially identified as the alleged shooter, but later clarified was a witness, saying they were also searching for another person.
A special police task force was at the scene and a helicopter was deployed.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis told Czech public television the shooting took place in a waiting room. He said he was traveling to the hospital in Ostrava.
President Milos Zeman expressed his deepest condolences to the survivors. He also thanked the law enforcement officers, the doctors, and everyone who was helping.
Employees of the hospital were advised not to leave their departments. “We are all nervous,” one female medic told the Czech News Agency (CTK).
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Czech Television reported police led a man out of the hospital in handcuffs but did not confirm if he was a suspect.
Ostrava is the third largest city in the Czech Republic, located around 300 kilometres (190 miles) east of Prague near the borders of Poland and Slovakia.
Tuesday’s incident was the worst shooting in the Czech Republic since a man shot eight people dead at a restaurant in Uhersky Brod in 2015.
kw/rs (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
