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A British newlywed couple were left “terrified” after local police asked them to stay in a bar near the site of a mass shooting in central Prague.
At least 15 other people have been killed, the gunman added, after Thursday’s incident at a university in the Czech capital, a university on Jan Palach Square.
Tom Leese, 34, a video producer, and his wife Rachael, 31, an account director – who are on their honeymoon in the country, were having a drink in the Slivovitz Museum, close to where the shooting occurred.
Leese told the Palestinian Authority’s news agency: “A policeman came in and shouted loudly in what I assume is Czech.
“I asked him in English and he told me that there is an active shooter and you have to stay in and down.
“The staff were very calm, turned off all the lights very temporarily and suggested we stay calm, the place to eat was quiet.
“The policeman left in a hurry and we stayed at the door of the restaurant. “
He said they stood there “really terrified,” not knowing what was going on, where the incident happened and whether there was more than one shooter.
The couple, from Merstham in Surrey, stayed at the museum for about an hour, opting to stay for a while after a member declared them safe.
“The thing is, it didn’t feel real,” Leese said in PA.
“Working in the news, those conditions once or twice a year.
“We know that . . . Attacks happen, but you never think you’re going to be in the middle of one or near one of them – and when that happens, you’re paralyzed. “
“The other people in the restaurant were calm and that helped us keep our composure a little bit,” he continued.
“It was scary, but, you know, they’ve been smart in helping us stay as calm as possible. “
He then recalls encountering a staff member “shaken” to pay for his drinks, who told them that the tram stopped outside, where the police were, in the same way that staff came home late at night.
The couple, who tied the knot on Saturday, contacted family and friends “immediately” and are “hoping” to return to the UK on Friday.
They had intended to move to a place to eat “right across the street” from the site of the attack on Thursday night, but as they were about to cancel their reservation, they learned that the dining place had already canceled all reservations.
Police and Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan said the gunman had died.
Police have not released details about the victims or the cases of the shooting.
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