Six shot dead and two others wounded as gunman opens fire in Czech hospital 

Hospital massacre as six people are shot dead in Czech medical centre

  • Six people were shot dead and two seriously injured after shooting at a hospital
  • The gunman opened fire at a hospital in the city of Ostrava in the Czech Republic
  • Police said officers are looking for the suspect and are securing other ‘targets’
  • Picture of a suspect in a red jacket was released by police as manhunt continues

A gunman opened fire today in a hospital in the Czech Republic killing six people and seriously injuring two others.

The suspect entered the building at around 7am this morning in the eastern Czech city of Ostrava, police said.

Officers are still hunting for the gunman and have asked the public for help in identifying him.

Police published a photo of the suspect online, showing a man in a red casual jacket. 

Armed police officers move near the crime scene in front of a hospital as a manhunt for the suspect was underway 

Czech police released an image of a suspect in a red jacket that officers are hunting over the hospital shooting today

Czech police released an image of a suspect in a red jacket that officers are hunting over the hospital shooting today

Patients and staff had to be cleared from the building after the gunman opened fire today

Patients and staff had to be cleared from the building after the gunman opened fire today 

Police are hunting for the gunman after a mass shooting at the University hospital in Ostrava

Police are hunting for the gunman after a mass shooting at the University hospital in Ostrava

The shooting happened around 7am this morning in the University hospital in the city, located 220 miles east of Prague.

Officials say patients and staff have been evacuated from the clinic. Police are boosting security across the country.

‘There are four dead and two seriously injured people on the site,’ regional police spokeswoman Pavla Jirouskova told the public Czech Television. 

She added that the police were still looking for the gunman.  

The number of people killed was initially said to be four with two injured, but that figure quickly rose to six dead, Health Minister Adam Vojtech told Czech Radio today. 

Hospital staff hide behind police vehicles near the scene of a shooting at a hospital in Ostrava

Hospital staff hide behind police vehicles near the scene of a shooting at a hospital in Ostrava

Armed police officers move near the crime scene in front of a hospital in Ostrava today as the area went into lockdown

Armed police officers move near the crime scene in front of a hospital in Ostrava today as the area went into lockdown 

People being evacuated from a hospital after a shooting incident in Ostrava this morning

People being evacuated from a hospital after a shooting incident in Ostrava this morning

Around 10 people are said to have been injured, although that number could also rise, local media reported. 

Czech police said they were strengthening security around ‘selected soft targets’ across the rest of the country as a result of the shooting.

The suspect was about 5ft 9in 180 (centimetres) feet tall, Czech TV reported.  

The DNES daily reported on its website that the shooting took place at the trauma ward of the hospital on the third floor. 

Although Prime Minister Andrej Babis told Czech public television the shooting took place in a waiting room. He added he is heading for the site today. 

Video footage and pictures published by public radio appeared to show police arresting a person at the site but police did not immediately confirm that it was the suspect. 

Police also tweeted a picture of a man they say could have been an important witness to the shooting.  

Armed police officers move near the crime scene in front of a hospital in Ostrava, Czech Republic today

Armed police officers move near the crime scene in front of a hospital in Ostrava, Czech Republic today

Firefighters, police officers and paramedics in front of the Ostrava Teaching Hospital, after a shooting incident in Ostava, Czech Republic, today

Firefighters, police officers and paramedics in front of the Ostrava Teaching Hospital, after a shooting incident in Ostava, Czech Republic, today

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