Former student kills 10 in Austria's worst school shooting
The death toll from a horrific school shooting in Graz, Austria has risen as a tenth victim died in hospital following what is now the country's worst school shooting in modern history.
On Tuesday, a 21-year-old Austrian man, who has not yet been identified, travelled to his former school with guns.
The attacker, a former BORG Dreierschützengasse high school student, arrived at the school that he did not graduate from.
Around 10am, he opened fire.
As emergency calls were made, and gunshots were heard by those in surrounding areas, more than 300 police raced to the scene.Ambulances also arrived within minutes as the premises were cordoned off.
Police said they believed the 21-year-old Austrian shooter, who was found dead in a bathroom, had been operating alone when he entered the school with two guns and opened fire.
The gunman killed ten people and the himself. A former student killed 10 people and himself at a secondary school in Austria's second city, Graz, on Tuesday. Credit: AP
The Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper said in an unconfirmed report that the suspect, armed with a pistol and a shotgun, had opened fire on pupils in two classrooms, one of which had once been his own.
It has been reported the gunman had been a victim of bullying. Police said investigations into a motive were continuing.
Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said six of those killed at the school were female and three were male.
Graz Hospital later confirmed the death of a 10th person.
Mr Karner said another dozen people had been injured but gave no further details about the victims.
Austrian media said most were pupils.
Terrifying vision of the incident circulated on social media in the wake of the deadly attack, with multiple gunshots heard.
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Chancellor Christian Stocker called the shooting a 'dark day in the history of our country'.
Locals have described how 'everybody knows somebody' at the school due to the size of the city of Graz which has a population of 300,000.
'There are no words for the pain and grief that we all - all of Austria - are feeling right now,' Mr Stocker said. Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner, left, and Chancellor Christian Stocker, right, attend a news conference following a shooting at a school in Graz, Austria. Credit: Heinz-Peter Bader / AP
Mr Stocker travelled to Graz where, at a press conference alongside officials including Mr Karner, he announced three days of mourning.
A minute's silence was set for 10am on Wednesday.
Flag's in Austria flew at half mast for the remainder of Tuesday, as the country began mourning the horrific and confronting attack.
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The Kronen-Zeitung newspaper said police had found a farewell note from the shooter at his home.
The paper did not say what it contained and police were not immediately available to comment.
An outpouring of grief was seen around Austria, with candles lit for the victims of the horrific event on Tuesday evening. Hauptplatz Square in Graz, Austria, 10 June 2025. Credit: ANTONIO BAT / EPA
Julia Ebner, an extremism expert at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue think-tank, said the incident appeared to be the worst school shooting in Austria's post-war history.
Foreign leaders including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed shock.
Austria has one of the most heavily armed civilian populations in Europe, with an estimated 30 firearms per 100 people, according to the Small Arms Survey, an independent research project.
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The 21-year-old man who carried out Austria's worst school shooting was an introverted fan of online shooting games, criminal investigators say. The Austrian identified by local media as Arthur A killed 10 people on Tuesday before shooting himself at his former high school in the southern city of Graz, sending shockwaves through Austria, which declared three days of national mourning. Police found discarded plans for a bomb attack and a non-functional pipe bomb during a search of his home after the shooting in Graz, capital of the state of Styria. Police are still trying to establish a motive, but Michael Lohnegger, head of Styria's criminal investigation office, said on Thursday findings indicated the man was very introverted and that his great passion was online first-person shooting games. "He led an extremely withdrawn life; he didn't want to take part in activities in normal life outside in the real world, he preferred to withdraw into the virtual space," he told reporters. Lohnegger said the man's closest friend had been questioned and that the shooter had social contacts with fellow online gamers. Police are checking whether he had assistance from other people in the run-up to the crime. Police said the rampage at the school lasted about seven minutes and that the man shot himself in the head in a toilet about 10 minutes after beginning the attack. A few minutes earlier, the man entered the school with a rucksack, then went into a bathroom to prepare for his assault. Then he put on a weapon belt with a hunting knife, donned shooting glasses and a headset and armed himself with a Glock pistol and sawn-off shotgun, police said. He opened fire at random on people on the second and third floors of the school, shooting off the locks to the doors in one of the classrooms he attacked, according to Lohnegger. Most of the victims were apparently unknown to the shooter, but he did know one of the teachers who died, police said. It was unclear if that fact played a role in her death. The shooter acquired the guns legally in April and May after passing a psychological evaluation for a necessary permit, and had practised shooting at a gun club since March, police said. Authorities said the man failed to graduate at the school and Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung reported that after dropping out, he attempted to join the army but was deemed psychologically unsuitable due to his introversion. Local media reported the man, who lived with his mother on the outskirts of Graz, felt bullied at the school and wanted revenge. Police declined to confirm this. "There's no evidence from his private life that he ever expressed any anger or displeasure towards the school, pupils or teaching staff," Lohnegger said. The man left behind a farewell note and video in which he apologised to his family for his actions and thanked them, but they gave no indication of his motives, police said. 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The 21-year-old man who carried out Austria's worst school shooting was an introverted fan of online shooting games, criminal investigators say. The Austrian identified by local media as Arthur A killed 10 people on Tuesday before shooting himself at his former high school in the southern city of Graz, sending shockwaves through Austria, which declared three days of national mourning. Police found discarded plans for a bomb attack and a non-functional pipe bomb during a search of his home after the shooting in Graz, capital of the state of Styria. Police are still trying to establish a motive, but Michael Lohnegger, head of Styria's criminal investigation office, said on Thursday findings indicated the man was very introverted and that his great passion was online first-person shooting games. "He led an extremely withdrawn life; he didn't want to take part in activities in normal life outside in the real world, he preferred to withdraw into the virtual space," he told reporters. Lohnegger said the man's closest friend had been questioned and that the shooter had social contacts with fellow online gamers. Police are checking whether he had assistance from other people in the run-up to the crime. Police said the rampage at the school lasted about seven minutes and that the man shot himself in the head in a toilet about 10 minutes after beginning the attack. A few minutes earlier, the man entered the school with a rucksack, then went into a bathroom to prepare for his assault. Then he put on a weapon belt with a hunting knife, donned shooting glasses and a headset and armed himself with a Glock pistol and sawn-off shotgun, police said. He opened fire at random on people on the second and third floors of the school, shooting off the locks to the doors in one of the classrooms he attacked, according to Lohnegger. Most of the victims were apparently unknown to the shooter, but he did know one of the teachers who died, police said. It was unclear if that fact played a role in her death. The shooter acquired the guns legally in April and May after passing a psychological evaluation for a necessary permit, and had practised shooting at a gun club since March, police said. Authorities said the man failed to graduate at the school and Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung reported that after dropping out, he attempted to join the army but was deemed psychologically unsuitable due to his introversion. Local media reported the man, who lived with his mother on the outskirts of Graz, felt bullied at the school and wanted revenge. Police declined to confirm this. "There's no evidence from his private life that he ever expressed any anger or displeasure towards the school, pupils or teaching staff," Lohnegger said. The man left behind a farewell note and video in which he apologised to his family for his actions and thanked them, but they gave no indication of his motives, police said.
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Austria has come to a standstill to mourn victims of one of the worst outbreaks of violence in its modern history, as authorities search for clues to why a 21-year-old gunman shot dead 10 people at his former high school before turning the gun on himself. Police said the man had acted alone in Tuesday's rampage, armed with a shotgun and a pistol. They are scouring his home and the internet to find out why he opened fire at the school in Austria's second city of Graz, before shooting himself in a bathroom. Authorities have not identified the man, who they said was an Austrian citizen living with his mother in an apartment in a suburb of Graz. Local media named him as Arthur A, and that he studied IT at the school, which he left without graduating. The dead were commemorated with a minute's silence at 10am. Churches rang funeral bells, including St Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, where about 900 public transport vehicles halted for a minute. Public broadcaster ORF paused all radio and TV programs for one minute, with TV showing a message to say the country was mourning the victims. The incident was hard to take in, said a religious studies teacher at the school, Paul Nitsche, who left his classroom before the gunman tried to enter, and briefly saw him trying to shoot the lock off another door. "This is something I couldn't even imagine before," he told ORF. "That's what the situation was like as I ran down the stairwell. I thought to myself: 'This wasn't real.'" Police said the gunman had left a farewell note and video that did not reveal the motive for the attack and that a non-functional pipe bomb and a discarded plan for a bomb attack were found at his home. They did not give details of his messages. Some Austrian media said the young man apparently felt bullied, though police have not confirmed this. Ennio Resnik, a pupil at the school, said students and teachers needed time to come to terms with what had happened, and asked that they be left in peace for a few days. "It's surreal, you can't describe or really understand it," he said, speaking to reporters outside an events centre near the school where students were being offered counselling. Some of the students there cried; others held each other. Six girls and three boys, aged 14 to 17, were among the victims. All the dead barring one Polish youth were Austrian citizens, police said. A teacher died from her injuries, and 11 people injured are in a stable condition, they said. Franz Ruf, director general of public security, said investigations into the motive were moving swiftly. "We don't want to speculate at this point," he told ORF. Police were on the alert for potential copycat attacks and they had received a threat against another school in Graz late on Tuesday, he said. In Tuesday's attack, about 17 minutes elapsed between the first emergency calls received by police about shots being fired at the school and the scene being declared safe, Ruf said. Austria - though normally a safe and peaceful country with low levels of crime - has one of the most heavily armed civilian populations in Europe, says the Small Arms Survey, an independent research project. The attack sparked calls, including from Graz's mayor, for gun laws to be tightened. Police said the guns used were in the suspect's possession legally, and Ruf said that while Austrian gun laws were strict, the case was being looked into. "If there are any loopholes, they need to be closed," he said. Details of the attack have emerged slowly. Police said victims were found both outside and inside the school, on various floors. Austria declared three days of mourning, with the shootings prompting a rare show of solidarity among often bitterly divided political parties. Austria has come to a standstill to mourn victims of one of the worst outbreaks of violence in its modern history, as authorities search for clues to why a 21-year-old gunman shot dead 10 people at his former high school before turning the gun on himself. Police said the man had acted alone in Tuesday's rampage, armed with a shotgun and a pistol. They are scouring his home and the internet to find out why he opened fire at the school in Austria's second city of Graz, before shooting himself in a bathroom. Authorities have not identified the man, who they said was an Austrian citizen living with his mother in an apartment in a suburb of Graz. Local media named him as Arthur A, and that he studied IT at the school, which he left without graduating. The dead were commemorated with a minute's silence at 10am. Churches rang funeral bells, including St Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, where about 900 public transport vehicles halted for a minute. Public broadcaster ORF paused all radio and TV programs for one minute, with TV showing a message to say the country was mourning the victims. The incident was hard to take in, said a religious studies teacher at the school, Paul Nitsche, who left his classroom before the gunman tried to enter, and briefly saw him trying to shoot the lock off another door. "This is something I couldn't even imagine before," he told ORF. "That's what the situation was like as I ran down the stairwell. I thought to myself: 'This wasn't real.'" Police said the gunman had left a farewell note and video that did not reveal the motive for the attack and that a non-functional pipe bomb and a discarded plan for a bomb attack were found at his home. They did not give details of his messages. Some Austrian media said the young man apparently felt bullied, though police have not confirmed this. Ennio Resnik, a pupil at the school, said students and teachers needed time to come to terms with what had happened, and asked that they be left in peace for a few days. "It's surreal, you can't describe or really understand it," he said, speaking to reporters outside an events centre near the school where students were being offered counselling. Some of the students there cried; others held each other. Six girls and three boys, aged 14 to 17, were among the victims. All the dead barring one Polish youth were Austrian citizens, police said. A teacher died from her injuries, and 11 people injured are in a stable condition, they said. Franz Ruf, director general of public security, said investigations into the motive were moving swiftly. "We don't want to speculate at this point," he told ORF. Police were on the alert for potential copycat attacks and they had received a threat against another school in Graz late on Tuesday, he said. In Tuesday's attack, about 17 minutes elapsed between the first emergency calls received by police about shots being fired at the school and the scene being declared safe, Ruf said. Austria - though normally a safe and peaceful country with low levels of crime - has one of the most heavily armed civilian populations in Europe, says the Small Arms Survey, an independent research project. The attack sparked calls, including from Graz's mayor, for gun laws to be tightened. Police said the guns used were in the suspect's possession legally, and Ruf said that while Austrian gun laws were strict, the case was being looked into. "If there are any loopholes, they need to be closed," he said. Details of the attack have emerged slowly. Police said victims were found both outside and inside the school, on various floors. Austria declared three days of mourning, with the shootings prompting a rare show of solidarity among often bitterly divided political parties. Austria has come to a standstill to mourn victims of one of the worst outbreaks of violence in its modern history, as authorities search for clues to why a 21-year-old gunman shot dead 10 people at his former high school before turning the gun on himself. Police said the man had acted alone in Tuesday's rampage, armed with a shotgun and a pistol. They are scouring his home and the internet to find out why he opened fire at the school in Austria's second city of Graz, before shooting himself in a bathroom. Authorities have not identified the man, who they said was an Austrian citizen living with his mother in an apartment in a suburb of Graz. Local media named him as Arthur A, and that he studied IT at the school, which he left without graduating. The dead were commemorated with a minute's silence at 10am. Churches rang funeral bells, including St Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, where about 900 public transport vehicles halted for a minute. Public broadcaster ORF paused all radio and TV programs for one minute, with TV showing a message to say the country was mourning the victims. The incident was hard to take in, said a religious studies teacher at the school, Paul Nitsche, who left his classroom before the gunman tried to enter, and briefly saw him trying to shoot the lock off another door. "This is something I couldn't even imagine before," he told ORF. "That's what the situation was like as I ran down the stairwell. I thought to myself: 'This wasn't real.'" Police said the gunman had left a farewell note and video that did not reveal the motive for the attack and that a non-functional pipe bomb and a discarded plan for a bomb attack were found at his home. They did not give details of his messages. Some Austrian media said the young man apparently felt bullied, though police have not confirmed this. Ennio Resnik, a pupil at the school, said students and teachers needed time to come to terms with what had happened, and asked that they be left in peace for a few days. "It's surreal, you can't describe or really understand it," he said, speaking to reporters outside an events centre near the school where students were being offered counselling. Some of the students there cried; others held each other. Six girls and three boys, aged 14 to 17, were among the victims. All the dead barring one Polish youth were Austrian citizens, police said. A teacher died from her injuries, and 11 people injured are in a stable condition, they said. Franz Ruf, director general of public security, said investigations into the motive were moving swiftly. "We don't want to speculate at this point," he told ORF. Police were on the alert for potential copycat attacks and they had received a threat against another school in Graz late on Tuesday, he said. In Tuesday's attack, about 17 minutes elapsed between the first emergency calls received by police about shots being fired at the school and the scene being declared safe, Ruf said. Austria - though normally a safe and peaceful country with low levels of crime - has one of the most heavily armed civilian populations in Europe, says the Small Arms Survey, an independent research project. The attack sparked calls, including from Graz's mayor, for gun laws to be tightened. Police said the guns used were in the suspect's possession legally, and Ruf said that while Austrian gun laws were strict, the case was being looked into. "If there are any loopholes, they need to be closed," he said. Details of the attack have emerged slowly. Police said victims were found both outside and inside the school, on various floors. Austria declared three days of mourning, with the shootings prompting a rare show of solidarity among often bitterly divided political parties. Austria has come to a standstill to mourn victims of one of the worst outbreaks of violence in its modern history, as authorities search for clues to why a 21-year-old gunman shot dead 10 people at his former high school before turning the gun on himself. Police said the man had acted alone in Tuesday's rampage, armed with a shotgun and a pistol. They are scouring his home and the internet to find out why he opened fire at the school in Austria's second city of Graz, before shooting himself in a bathroom. Authorities have not identified the man, who they said was an Austrian citizen living with his mother in an apartment in a suburb of Graz. Local media named him as Arthur A, and that he studied IT at the school, which he left without graduating. The dead were commemorated with a minute's silence at 10am. Churches rang funeral bells, including St Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, where about 900 public transport vehicles halted for a minute. Public broadcaster ORF paused all radio and TV programs for one minute, with TV showing a message to say the country was mourning the victims. The incident was hard to take in, said a religious studies teacher at the school, Paul Nitsche, who left his classroom before the gunman tried to enter, and briefly saw him trying to shoot the lock off another door. "This is something I couldn't even imagine before," he told ORF. "That's what the situation was like as I ran down the stairwell. I thought to myself: 'This wasn't real.'" Police said the gunman had left a farewell note and video that did not reveal the motive for the attack and that a non-functional pipe bomb and a discarded plan for a bomb attack were found at his home. They did not give details of his messages. Some Austrian media said the young man apparently felt bullied, though police have not confirmed this. Ennio Resnik, a pupil at the school, said students and teachers needed time to come to terms with what had happened, and asked that they be left in peace for a few days. "It's surreal, you can't describe or really understand it," he said, speaking to reporters outside an events centre near the school where students were being offered counselling. Some of the students there cried; others held each other. Six girls and three boys, aged 14 to 17, were among the victims. All the dead barring one Polish youth were Austrian citizens, police said. A teacher died from her injuries, and 11 people injured are in a stable condition, they said. Franz Ruf, director general of public security, said investigations into the motive were moving swiftly. "We don't want to speculate at this point," he told ORF. Police were on the alert for potential copycat attacks and they had received a threat against another school in Graz late on Tuesday, he said. In Tuesday's attack, about 17 minutes elapsed between the first emergency calls received by police about shots being fired at the school and the scene being declared safe, Ruf said. Austria - though normally a safe and peaceful country with low levels of crime - has one of the most heavily armed civilian populations in Europe, says the Small Arms Survey, an independent research project. The attack sparked calls, including from Graz's mayor, for gun laws to be tightened. Police said the guns used were in the suspect's possession legally, and Ruf said that while Austrian gun laws were strict, the case was being looked into. "If there are any loopholes, they need to be closed," he said. Details of the attack have emerged slowly. Police said victims were found both outside and inside the school, on various floors. Austria declared three days of mourning, with the shootings prompting a rare show of solidarity among often bitterly divided political parties.
