A GUNMAN who killed at least 15 people at a university in central Prague was a student there, police have confirmed.

Police and the Czech Republic's interior ministry earlier said the suspect was dead.

Officers sealed off Jan Palach Square and evacuated the philosophy department of Charles University, where the shooting took place.

They are still searching the area, including the building's balconies, for possible explosives.

The police department said the square had been sealed off and urged people to leave the surrounding streets and stay inside.

Prague's rescue service said around 30 people suffered various injuries, including nine with serious ones.

Pavel Nedoma, the director of Rudolfinum Gallery, which also is located in the square, told Czech public television he saw from a window a person who was shooting toward the nearby Manes bridge across the Vltava River.

Prime Minister Petr Fiala cancelled his scheduled events and was heading for Prague.