“Hey, you fucker, here I am, shoot here!” screamed a Czech reporter making an attempt to distract a gunman who killed 14 individuals at a college constructing in Prague on Thursday, serving to individuals to flee the nation’s worst mass taking pictures.

Jiri Forman, a reporter for a small security-focused information outfit who stated he had expertise in conflict zones, evaded hearth from the gunman who was perched on a balcony on the highest ground of Charles University’s Faculty of Art.

While ducking behind a nook in a sq. under, he stored feeding info to police outdoors and urged them to fireside again, whereas filming repeatedly on his cellphone.

Asked by an officer what was he doing, Forman is heard within the footage shouting: “So that he doesn’t shoot at the people! What do you think I’m am I doing, man? There are people there!”

His actions have received him plaudits in Czech media, however Forman performed down solutions he was a hero.

“Where I stood it was absolutely safe, nobody was there and I knew I could duck behind an obstacle,” he advised Reuters on Friday.

“And if he shoots in my direction, he won’t have the people fleeing, they will have a chance to reach cover. I screamed at him and he started shooting in my direction.”

Police within the sq. returned hearth on the attacker, a 24-year previous pupil on the school with a gun licence.

He ultimately dropped his rifle with sights, and police stated this allowed officers contained in the constructing to get nearer, prompting the attacker to shoot himself.

“The policeman I believe shot three times at the attacker. I think this threw him off balance. Then he also hears that police are getting close from inside, so he shot himself,” Forman stated.

Police stated that they had been looking the assailant since 12.26 p.m. (1126 GMT) on Thursday, when his buddy alerted them he had despatched a suicidal textual content message. While they tried to intercept him at a lecture he was as a result of attend at one other location, he went as a substitute to a special constructing.

Police stated it took 21 minutes from the primary info on the taking pictures on the constructing to affirmation the attacker was useless at 3.20 p.m.

Apart from victims on the college, police stated the attacker additionally killed his father earlier on Thursday and ballistic evaluation linked him to the homicide of a person and his two-month previous daughter final week.

“I did things I believed were right, and unfortunately, the sad heroes are the relatives who lost their closest ones at this Christmas time, and policemen and rescue services,” Forman stated.

(Reporting by Radan Sprongl; Writing by Jan Lopatka; Editing by Mark Potter)