Editor’s Note: This article contains reference to gun violence.

The deadliest mass shooting in the Czech Republic’s history occurred on the campus of a partner university of NC State European Center in Prague, around one mile from where students in session were studying weeks prior. The NC State Study Abroad office is reviewing its safety protocols in response to the shooting.

The mass shooting occurred on Charles University’s campus on Dec. 21, 2023. Charles University educates about one-sixth of all students in the Czech Republic and is one of the four universities in Prague that NC State Prague partners with.

At the time of the shooting, most NC State students studying in Prague had returned home. Some students remained in Prague with their families at the time of the shooting. No NC State students or staff were harmed in the shooting.

Kimberly Strozewski, the director of NC State Prague, said the students and families who remained in Prague at the time of the shooting were alerted by NC State Prague staff about the situation, despite classes not being in session. 

Julia Law, director of the NC State Study Abroad office, said the Study Abroad office is implementing more safety policies, as is NC State Prague. 

“We are doing reviews of our protocols, … but they are pretty thorough,” Law said. “[Safety protocols] might look a little bit different because we’re coordinating across time zones and locations, but [we have] on-site partners in all of the locations where we’re sending students. [They] have infrastructure and risk management and risk mitigation processes [in] addition to emergency response plans for individual programs where students are studying.”

Law said there is a robust safety plan in place that allows the Study Abroad office to get in contact with students and offices abroad, but there is currently an ongoing review of these plans as a result of the shooting in Prague. 

Law said Study Abroad collaborates with various agencies to ensure the safety of its students abroad. 

“I haven’t seen that there are other indicators that would cause an increased level of concern,” Law said. “The safety [and] security networks that we utilize … the U.S. State Department, [a] private security agency, our partner institutions abroad, the U.S. Embassy … they try and have a good, well-rounded assessment of the situation. And so I’m not seeing anything that indicates that there’s a trend of change right now.”

While the Czech Republic is seen to have generally more relaxed gun laws than the rest of the E.U., mass shootings and gun violence are rare. This was the third mass shooting in the country in nine years. 

Compared to the United States, the country’s gun violence rates are staggeringly low. In 2019, the Czech Republic saw 195 total gun deaths, compared to the United States’ 15,000. 

To obtain a gun in the Czech Republic, one must pass a test, background check and health clearance. Despite these regulations, the shooter at Charles University legally owned his gun and several others.

“That’s what’s so unusual,” Strozewski said. “He passed psychological testing. He had the permits and everything.” 

Though officials are reporting that this was a premeditated and isolated incident, the Czech Republic has plans to pass new gun legislation. 

Law said the Study Abroad office is still encouraging students to seek out opportunities to expand their personal and academic horizons abroad and does not believe the shooting at Charles University poses an increased safety risk to students intending to study abroad in Prague or elsewhere.

“I think that life has its risks and its rewards, and we want to be careful and diligent about how we’re moving forward in life, but not from a place of fear, … from a place of intentional academic and personal growth,” Law said. 

Strozewski said NC State Prague does not see this event as indicative of future threats to the general safety and well-being of study abroad students in the country. 

“I think the students feel safer here than in the U.S., just because there’s very low [crime],” Strozewski said. “People don’t carry weapons here normally. Students are surprised to hear that it is actually safe to walk around at night. There isn’t crime here on the streets. There [aren’t] shootings.”