School dropout shoots dead nine in Austria
At least nine people were shot dead at a secondary school by a former pupil in the Austrian city of Graz.
Several students and at least one adult were among those killed in the country's worst school shooting in living memory.
The suspect was a 21-year-old man who had attended the school but not graduated. He shot himself in the school toilets after his attack.
Austria's chancellor said the shooting at BORG Dreierschützengasse high school marks a 'dark day in the history of the country'.
The victims included six females and four males, police said, without revealing their identities. A dozen more people were injured, including several seriously.
Local media reports suggested the suspect was a victim of bullying when he attended the school.
Gerhard Karner, the interior minister, said investigations are ongoing into the background of the suspect, but did not comment on his identity or motives.
He used two guns, a shotgun and a handgun – both obtained legally – in the attack.
At around 10am local time (9am BST), rounds of loud gunshots followed by screams were heard coming from the school, and the alarm began sounding.
Dozens of police cars and ambulances were filmed racing to the scene, which is half a mile from Graz's historic centre, as a police helicopter circled above.
Officers, supported by Austria's elite 'Cobra' unit, then combed through the school, evacuating the wounded and the students and teachers who had barricaded themselves in classrooms.
Around midday, police announced that the school had been secured and the danger was over.
The wounded were taken to several hospitals in the area, and a mass casualty event was declared.
'This is a national tragedy that has hit us deeply,' Christian Stocker, the Austrian chancellor, said in the wake of the events.
Declaring three days of national mourning, he said that schools 'must remain places of peace'.
Alexander Van der Bellen, Austria's president, said: 'This horror cannot be captured in words. These were young people who had their whole lives ahead of them. A teacher who accompanied them on their way.'
Mark Nolden, 22, a student who lives near the school and knows some of the students, described the shooting as a 'huge shock' for the community.
He told Kronen Zeitung, Austria's biggest newspaper: 'It's a situation like something out of a movie, above all the uncertainty.'
Local media, citing unconfirmed witness reports, said the suspect was carrying two weapons, a pistol and a shotgun and that he was found dead inside the school toilets.
The Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper reported that he had purchased one of the guns just days ago.
Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, said: 'Schools are symbols of youth, hope and the future. It is difficult to bear when schools become places of death and violence.'
Prime Minister Keir Starmer's 'thoughts are with everyone affected and the people of Austria', his official spokesman said.
Despite Austria having one of the heavily armed civilian populations in Europe – with an estimated 30 firearms per 100 persons – school shootings are uncommon.
Austria only had two mass shootings between 2000 and 2022.
Machine guns and pump-action guns are banned, while shotguns, revolvers, pistols and semi-automatic weapons are allowed with official authorisation or a firearms licence.
Four people were killed and 22 injured when a convicted jihadist went on a shooting spree in the centre of Vienna in 2020.
The school shooting in Graz happened almost 10 years to the day that the city was rocked by a driver who deliberately rammed his car into the city centre before stabbing residents. The attacker, Alen Rizvanović, a Bosnian refugee, killed three people and injured more than 30.
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