It was meant to be a relaxing family holiday in Europe before Christmas.
Instead, Peter Vendel, a Singaporean permanent resident from the Netherlands, was shot by a 24-year-old Czech student who went on a shooting spree at Charles University in Prague, the country's capital, on Dec. 21.
Vendel, 47, survived but spent Christmas in a hospital ICU ward after a bullet hit him in the right thigh.
He was one of more than 25 people injured in the wake of the Czech Republic's worst mass shooting to date.
14 others were killed before the gunman shot himself, with police closing in on him, Reuters reported.
Europe tour turned sour
In an interview with Mothership on Jan. 3, Vendel's wife, Sofea, 40, who's still in Prague looking after her husband, lamented that the family trip turned out to be a "nightmare".
She initially had high hopes, having wanted to visit Prague since their honeymoon in 2016.
"It's a beautiful city which my husband visited during his younger days...so I thought after Covid-19, all of us we could tour Europe for a bit," Sofea shared.
Image courtesy of Sofea.
The couple's 15-year-old daughter and five-year-old son were travelling with them as well.
Prague was meant to be their last stop before heading to the Netherlands to visit Vendel's family for Christmas.
Gunshot was like 'a gust of wind'
The fateful encounter happened on their last day in Prague, while the family was on their way to lunch.
Sofea said the family had been crossing a bridge heading towards Old Town Square opposite the university, when she heard a distant sound like a gunshot.
Wary, she told Vendel but he brushed it off, saying it might be something else.
Sofea noticed other warning signs such as passing ambulances and police sirens when nearing the university.
All of a sudden, another gunshot rang out and people started running.
Unsure of where the shooter was, the family also ran back the way they came, but stopped after 500m, thinking they were safe.
That's when Sofea heard a "gust of wind", followed by Vendel cursing in Dutch.
"I can't feel my legs," he said, and collapsed.
Helped by passersby, ambulance
Panicking, Sofea dragged her husband's body away from the spot he had been shot, while yelling for help.
This caught the attention of some passersby who turned back and helped to shift Vendel "about 100 metres away", while ducking to avoid the shooter's line of fire.
Sofea took cover behind a walled section at the bridge with her two children, while a passing ambulance stopped at where Vendel was lying.
She saw him kneeling at the back of the ambulance before someone whisked him inside, and the vehicle drove off.
However, the ordeal was not over for Sofea and the other pedestrians, who were still trapped by the shooter.
Sofea and her family were taking cover at a nearby bridge as police arrived at the scene. Image courtesy of Sofea.
While trapped at the bridge, she video-called her sister-in-law and father about the situation.
"I thought we wouldn't be alive to tell the tale...We didn't know how many shooters there were or if it was a terrorist attack", Sofea admitted.
To their relief, after close to an hour, police at the scene gave them the all-clear.
"It was like time stood still, and it felt like a bad movie," she said.
Injuries and trauma
Vendel has been in the hospital's ICU ward for the past two weeks, since the shooting on Dec. 21.
The bullet penetrated his right thigh bone and crushed his pelvis, before it was embedded in his rib.
He has had two surgeries to remove the bullet as well as part of his pelvis, and is currently waiting to be airlifted to the Netherlands for a third operation to insert an implant so he can walk.
Despite visiting him every day, Sofea said her husband hadn't breathed a word about what happened until recently.
"I think he's been suppressing it," she guessed.
Meanwhile, Sofea's daughter returned to Singapore on Dec. 29, accompanied by Sofea's ex-husband, and will undergo counselling with her school.
Sofea's son, however, wants to remain by her side.
On their rare walks around the city, he would point out shattered windows, and tell her he thinks it's because of the shooter.
One thing Sofea does to calm his nerves is to buy him ice-cream from a nearby supermarket.
But on the day of our interview, she and her son were at a playground 100m from their flat when he heard a police siren.
They immediately fled back to the apartment, before finding out that it was a false alarm.
"We're also traumatised," she said.
Outpouring of kindness
Nevertheless, Sofea said she's grateful for the outpouring of kindness she's received since the incident.
The Singaporean and Dutch embassies in Prague have been helping with their administrative matters.
And the day after the shooting, Sofea's in-laws arrived from the Netherlands — a 10-hour train ride away — to support the family.
Sofea's parents have also been calling her daily, and she's received numerous messages from her son's preschool teachers and friends to assure him that things are going to be fine.
They also just managed to have a WhatsApp video call with some of his buddies from school.
"I really appreciate that a lot. It was a beautiful, chaotic moment for my son, but it did make him happy," she shared.
Future travel plans
Sofea said she still has a good impression of the people in Prague, who are "actually very kind and sweet".
Nevertheless, she wants to leave for the Netherlands with Vendel as soon as they are able to.
"It's very scary because we come from a safe country," she added.
Sofea shared that apart from visiting her in-laws in Holland, the family is probably going to refrain from travelling for some time.
"Sometimes in life, you never know what will happen...The strangest things could happen to you in what you think is the safest place. So yeah, we'll just take things one day at a time."
Top image from Sofea. Quotes edited for clarity.