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Police received a report of gunshots on the campus of the University of West Bohemia in the afternoon of Wednesday 4 December. A large number of police forces, including a task force, a rapid deployment unit and a police drone and helicopter, immediately went to the scene. The police searched the interior of the buildings on the Bory campus from Wednesday afternoon until the evening hours. A total of eight gunshot detectors were located on the campus, none of which detected anything. Security measures were completed that same evening, and no one was injured.

On Friday, 6 December, the police charged two persons with the offence of rioting in the form of complicity; they are students of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the University of UWB. One of them was supposed to shout the phrase "Allahu akbar" and the other was supposed to make sounds resembling gunshots. This behaviour frightened another student, who called the 158 hotline.

UWB rector Miroslav Lávička reacted to the latest information about the police investigation into Wednesday's incident: "I was shocked to learn that two students from the Faculty of Engineering were behind it. I assume that they are now very well aware of what they have done and regret their actions. The police were able to detect them quickly thanks to our CCTV system and our JIS card readers. This, by the way, is one of the important measures to increase security that have been introduced at the University of West Bohemia. And it is not the only one," he said.

The rector condemned the students' behaviour, saying it was completely unacceptable and could not be excused by any circumstances. Their act has resulted in unnecessary costs for the deployment of police and other emergency services, considerable deployment of many people and last but not least, it has taken a significant toll on the psyche of our students, staff and their loved ones.

The police are continuing to investigate the act and the UWB remains fully cooperative in order to bring about a full clarification. At the same time, possible violations of university and faculty bylaws, breaches of ethical guidelines or the matriculation oath are also being investigated.

"This was a reckless and stupid act for which the perpetrators will suffer the appropriate consequences. The disciplinary code of the faculty from where the students are from will be used for this. At the moment, the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering is already involved and is looking into the situation. According to the Higher Education Act, the disciplinary authority over a student belongs to the dean, the dean decides on the imposition of a sanction for a student's disciplinary offence on the proposal of the disciplinary committee," continued rector Lávička. Possible conclusions of the committee may be a warning, suspension or expulsion.

At the same time, the rector stressed that the student who reacted to the shouting and the sound similar to shooting and called the emergency line, showed discretion and responsibility in this situation and behaved correctly. "Such a prompt and aware response is exactly what saves lives in crisis situations. And that's what was emphasized in the safety training sessions. I thank him very much for that," he added.

Miroslav Lávička also said that he stood by the fact that on Wednesday evening the university had done everything possible to inform students and staff through emails and social networks. "However, the timing of their distribution was also subject to an agreement with the police, whose tactical intervention could not be disrupted by the premature dissemination of information on its own. That is the agreement. But we know that it would have been advisable to be faster, which is why we have been working for the last six months to acquire our own mass warning system. We will purchase it by the end of the year and start putting it into operation from the beginning of the year," he explained.

Details from the press release of the Police of the Czech Republic can be read here.