The event occurred on Saturday when the Faculty of Education held its traditional Open Day. “We saw a man behaving strangely inside the building. He was looking around strangely and seemed restless,” said Dean Simona Koryčánková, describing the details of the unpleasant experience. “After the tragic events at the Faculty of Arts in Prague in December, we have all been more cautious and vigilant, so based on this unusual behaviour, we immediately called the municipal police, who arrested the man,” explains Dean Simona Koryčánková, who praised the speed of the intervention. The police then found a weapon on the man.
According to the University’s internal regulations, it is forbidden to bring weapons onto University premises. Therefore, the whole incident could have legal consequences. “The police are now investigating the incident. The important thing is that no one was injured and the safety of the participants was not compromised. We are grateful for the dean's vigilance and the police’s prompt response,” said university spokesman Radim Sajbot.
Following the tragic shooting at Charles University in December, Masaryk University has initiated intensive cooperation with the South Moravian Regional Police Directorate. The first in a series of practical and security training sessions by the police for selected groups of university staff begins today. In the first phase of the training, technical staff on university premises will learn what to do in case of an emergency. The police will also be provided with all the necessary documents in the form of ‘intervention cards’, which will show them how many complexes and buildings Masaryk University has, how many floors and entrances there are in each building, etc., so that any intervention can be as quick and effective as possible and the police have all the basic information about the location available when they arrive. “We are also preparing the training of other university staff so that those responsible in all faculties and other university units also have the relevant information. At the same time, we are discussing the form and content of the guidance information for students, and we are also in contact with other security experts who specialise in dealing with emergency situations,” Sajbot added.
Masaryk University is also finalising an early warning system that will be able to send text messages to selected groups of staff and students in the event of an emergency, for example, people from a particular faculty or even everyone at the entire university. The system is expected to be operational in the spring. At the same time, a list of contact details of relevant university staff is being finalised for the police so that emergency communication between the two organisations is as quick and efficient as possible in the event of an incident.
“I believe that one of the biggest lessons we can learn from the tragedy at Charles University in December – and by us I don’t just mean the academic staff, but all students – is that we should be more observant and perceptive, and not be afraid to report anything suspicious by calling 158 or 156. Saturday’s intervention shows that the police take these cases seriously,” added Simona Koryčánková, Dean of the Faculty of Education at MU.