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Ten people killed in school shooting in Austria At least 10 people killed in Austria school shooting
(about 1 hour later)
Presumed shooter and several students killed in attack in city of Graz, says mayor Mayor of Graz says presumed gunman among the dead as local media report as many as 30 people injured
At least 10 people have been killed and more seriously injured in a shooting at a secondary school in the southern Austrian city of Graz, authorities have said. Austria school shooting – latest updates
The mayor of Graz, Elke Kahr, said the presumed shooter and several students were among the fatalities in the attack, the deadliest in Austria’s postwar history. At least 10 people have been killed and several more seriously injured in a shooting at a secondary school in the southern Austrian city of Graz, authorities have said.
Local media reported the attack began at about 10am local time when a gunman opened fire in two classrooms. Ninety minutes later local police said on social media they believed there was “no further danger” after a major security operation involving a special forces unit and several police helicopters. The mayor of Graz, Elke Kahr, said the presumed shooter, several students and another adult, thought to be a teacher, were among the fatalities in the attack, the deadliest in Austria’s postwar history. Local media reported that as many as 30 people had been injured.
Pupils and staff were evacuated from the BORG Dreierschützengasse high school in Graz, and the building was being thoroughly searched, a police spokesperson said, confirming “several fatalities” but giving no specific number. The gunman, reportedly a former pupil, opened fire in two classrooms at about 10am local time. Ninety minutes later police said there was “no further danger” after a major security operation involving special forces and police helicopters.
Police sources told the Kurier newspaper the perpetrator appeared to have been a former student at the school who turned his weapon on himself. Families were gathering at a nearby sports hall and crisis intervention teams were on hand. Pupils and staff were evacuated from the BORG Dreierschützengasse high school in Graz, and the building was being thoroughly searched, a police spokesperson said. Police confirmed that 10 people had died, including the perpetrator.
The area around the school was cordoned off and public transport was diverted, with all streets surrounding the school guarded by armed officers. Emergency vehicles were continuing to head to the school at midday, reporters at the scene said. Citing police sources, local media reported that the gunman was a 22-year-old former student of the school and was armed with two weapons, a pistol and a shotgun, both legally owned, one of which he turned on himself.
Austria’s interior minister, Gerhard Karner, and chancellor, Christian Stocker, were on their way to Graz. Kahr, the mayor, described the shooting as a “terrible tragedy”, adding that the killings “concern us all … Time will be needed to process this.” Families were gathering at a nearby sports hall where crisis intervention teams were on hand. The area around the school was cordoned off and public transport was diverted, with all streets surrounding the school guarded by armed officers.
The Vienna mayor, Michael Ludwig, posted on social media: “we must stand together as a society. Hate and violence must never gain the upper hand. Our response to this must be an even stronger commitment to solidarity and respect.” A spokesperson for the Austrian Red Cross told the public broadcaster ORF that more than 160 responders were at the scene, including emergency doctors and paramedics. Two information points were available for the school’s students and relatives.
The country’s foreign minister, Beate Meinl-Reisinger, said her “sympathy and sadness are with the victims and their families”. The news of the shooting was “incomprehensible and unbearable”, she said. “No one can imagine the suffering.” Austria’s interior minister, Gerhard Karner, and chancellor, Christian Stocker, were on their way to Graz. Stocker said the shooting was a “national tragedy that has deeply shaken our entire country” and was an “incomprehensible” act of violence.
“There are no words for the pain and grief that all of us in Austria are feeling,” he said. “Today it’s all about compassion. And about being there for one another. In these difficult times, humanity is our strongest force.”
Austria’s president, Alexander Van der Bellen, said: “What happened today … strikes our country at the heart. These were young people who had their whole lives ahead of them. A teacher who accompanied them on their journey.”
Nothing could ease the pain felt by “the parents, grandparents, siblings and friends of the murdered people at this moment”, he said, adding that the country “stood together to withstand this pain, together”.
Austrians own an estimated 30 firearms for every 100 people, making the country one of the most heavily armed civilian populations in Europe.
Machine guns and pump-action guns are banned, but revolvers, pistols and semi-automatic weapons are allowed with official authorisation, and rifles and shotguns with a firearms licence, a valid hunting licence or for members of shooting clubs.
Mass shootings, however, are rare. In 2020, four people were killed and 22 injured in a gun attack by a convicted jihadist in Vienna. In November 1997, a 36-year-old mechanic shot dead six people in the town of Mauterndorf before killing himself.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, expressed her condolences on Tuesday, saying schools were “symbols of youth, hope and the future”. “It’s hard to bear when schools become places of death and violence,” she added.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said she was “deeply shocked” and that “every child should feel safe at school and be able to learn free from fear and violence”. Kahr, the mayor, described the shooting as a “terrible tragedy”.
The Vienna mayor, Michael Ludwig, posted on social media: “We must stand together as a society. Hate and violence must never gain the upper hand. Our response to this must be an even stronger commitment to solidarity and respect.”