Just one day before the Czech Republic was due to begin its Christmas celebrations, it held a national day of mourning for the victims of the worst mass shooting in its history. Flags flew at half mast and a minute’s silence was held at noon for the 14 people killed by a lone shooter on 21 December in the arts faculty at Prague’s Charles University. Images of students hiding from the killer on narrow ledges high above the street horrified the peaceful central European country, where mass violence is extremely rare. Despite freezing cold and persistent rain, mourners continued to gather at makeshift memorials across the country. Thousands of people, including President Petr Pavel and other top Czech politicians, filled the huge gothic St Vitus Cathedral, where the archbishop of Prague said mass for the victims. “I’m not at all religious, but I felt I had to come today,” said Filip, 26, who also studies at Charles University. He said he was devastated by the loss of fellow students and felt helpless. “I had to do something, even if it doesn’t help those who lost their lives.” The city’s famous Christmas markets were shuttered and sporting events were cancelled on Saturday. The government said all public events that could “disrupt the dignity of the state mourning” should be called off. Friends Francisca Torres from Chile and Mari Takata from Japan, both studying in Bristol, said they had come to Prague to visit the Christmas markets and soak up the festive atmosphere. “We are a little bit disappointed that the markets are closed, but of course we completely understand,” said Torres, 26. Takata, 24, said they had heard news of the shooting while in Vienna, and were “a little bit scared”, but came to Prague anyway. “It’s such a beautiful city: we wanted to see it,” she said. The shooting took place last Thursday afternoon in a busy tourist area a minute’s walk from the historic Old Town Square. The gunman, a 24-year-old student, opened fire inside the faculty building, sending students and professors fleeing across the halls and on to the roof. During the shooting spree, which lasted about 20 minutes, The gunman killed 14 people and injured 25 before turning the gun on himself. One of the victims died after falling off a ledge. Police officers arrived within minutes because they had been looking for the shooter at a nearby campus. Prague police chief Petr Matějček said later that his officers had been tipped off by a friend of the gunman. She had been sent a “suicide text” claiming he was going to end his life. After finding the young man’s father dead in the family house west of Prague, the police rushed to the campus where he had been expected to attend a lecture and ordered its evacuation. However, the gunman instead chose to open fire at a different city centre campus. Interior minister Vít Rakušan praised the police’s swift and professional reaction. Had they not been so close, he said, the number of victims could have been “an order of magnitude higher”. The police also linked the gunman to the 15 December killings of a father and his baby daughter east of Prague. “Ballistic expertise has shown a match between the weapon used in Klánovice forest and the weapon found in the house where the university shooter lived,” police said. Gun crime is relatively rare in the Czech Republic, but the country’s efforts to loosen gun laws have made it an outlier. It is the only European country where citizens have a legal right to bear arms, though they first have to pass a series of tests to prove their competence. Among the victims was first-year student, dancer and aspiring journalist Lucie Špindlerová. Her colleagues on Prague daily newspaper Lidové Noviny wrote: “Every time she came to the newsroom, she lit it up with her smile, her positive outlook and her approach to life that lifted our spirits and improved our mood.” Also killed were Klára Holcová, 20, who represented the Czech Republic at shot put, and students Magdalena Křístková and Aneta Richterová. At least two teachers also died. Lenka Hlávková, 49, director of the Institute of Musicology, was about to start a Christmas concert on the building’s wide staircase when the shooting started. Fellow victim Jan Dlask, an expert in Scandinavian literature was described on Facebook as “a wonderful, kind and loving person”, well-liked by his students.