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01:20

For Prague residents, Christmas won't be the same this year. Flags are flying at half-mast while church bells across the nation are ringing in memory of those killed in the mass shooting at the city's university. Saturday was a national day of mourning.

Crowds assembled at Charles University, where 14 people were shot dead in Thursday's mass shooting, to pay their respects and observe a minute's silence for the victims. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala had expressed his deep sorrow - saying the country had been shocked by this "horrendous act."

Meanwhile, Fiala's government has announced increased security measures for the whole country: deploying police officers with machine guns to various locations. The mass shooting has cast a shadow over people in the nation's capital - as well as tourists who came to spend holidays in the city, which is famous for its Christmas markets.

Gunman David Kozak's motivation remains unclear and investigators are trying to determine whether the 24-year old is connected to another murder case.

Candles and flowers are placed at a makeshift memorial for the the victims, outside the Charles University in central Prague. /Michal Cizek/AFP

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Police believe that he killed his father before carrying his shotgun to the Faculty of Arts building of Charles University - brutally murdering his victims. It was one of the deadliest attacks by a lone gunmen in Europe this century.

Those killed in Thursday's attack included Lenka Hlavkova, head of the Institute of Musicology at the university. Other victims were named as translator and Finnish literature expert Jan Dlask and student Lucie Spindlerova.