SEVERAL people have been killed and dozens injured after a gunman opened fire at a university in Prague.
Footage showed panicked crowds fleeing the area with their hands in the air after the shooting at Charles University in the Czech capital.
Terrified staff and students were seen running from the Faculty of Arts building surrounded by armed cops – while others barricaded themselves in classrooms.
Pictures showed other panicked students hiding from the gunman on the roof of the five-storey building in Jan Palach Square.
Police confirmed “there are several dead and dozens of injured”.
They said the gunman had been “eliminated”.
“The entire building is currently being evacuated and there are several dead and dozens of injured,” cops said.
“We urge citizens not to stay in the immediate vicinity and not to leave the house.”
The square has been sealed off and cops have urged people to stay inside.
Charles University – located about 500m from the historic Charles Bridge, a popular tourist spot – told staff to “stay put” and lock the doors.
“Don’t go anywhere, if you’re in the offices, lock them and place furniture in front of the door, turn off the lights,” an email to staff at the Philosophy Faculty said.
One student described “police officers with guns everywhere”.
They told CNN Prima News: “They kicked us out of the school yelling, ‘Hands up!'”
Another eyewitness said: “Some students were hiding on the walkway and someone fell from the roof.”
A witness inside the university building said the gunman was seen walking along the ledge of the roof.
Another student posted a photo of his classroom door barricaded with tables and chairs.
He said: “Currently stuck inside my classroom in Prague. Shooter is dead, but we are waiting to be evacuated.
“Praying to make it out alive. Locked the door before the shooter tried to open it.”
Interior Minister Vit Rakusan told Czech TV that “no other gunman has been confirmed” and urged people to follow instructions from cops.
Prague’s mayor Bohuslav Svoboda said he was “completely shocked by what happened at the Faculty of Arts”.
“Please be careful. We will update as soon as we know more details,” he said.