Austria in shock after school shooting by former pupil leaves 11 dead
Austria was in mourning on Tuesday after a gunman opened fire at a secondary school before taking his own life, leaving a total of 11 people dead.
The suspected perpetrator was a 21-year-old former pupil, who used two legally owned weapons to carry out the horrifying attack, according to Austrian authorities.
Chancellor Christian Stocker called the incident a "national tragedy" in a post on X, as European leaders offered their condolences.
The identities of the victims have not been confirmed by police, although the APA news agency reported that one adult woman had died of her injuries in hospital.
Of the nine victims initially reported shortly after the attack early on Tuesday, six were female and three male, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said.
A further 11 people were also injured, some of them seriously.
The minister said the perpetrator never graduated and that his motive was still being investigated. After carrying out the rampage, he died by suicide in a bathroom at the school.
The general director of public security, Franz Ruf, told broadcaster ORF that police found a suicide note, but that the document did not include a motive for the shooting.
Austrian media have speculated that the man may have been bullied as a pupil.
"This horror cannot be put into words," Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen wrote on X. "Austria is in mourning."
Shots fired on Tuesday morning
Police said the shots were fired at an upper secondary school around 10 am (0800 GMT), with special units quickly responding to the scene. Students at such schools are typically 14 years and older.
In some of the first details to emerge from inside the school, the father of a boy who was present said the suspect intentionally shot pupils in a classroom.
The son said he threw himself to the floor and played dead, the man told broadcaster Puls24.
He said his child saw three schoolmates being killed with his own eyes, but escaped unharmed, along with his brother.
The building was evacuated, with students and teachers escorted to a safe meeting place, and some 300 police officers were deployed.
Parents and uninjured students were taken to nearby buildings and cared for by crisis intervention teams, the city said.
Police wrote later on X there was "no further danger" and that the "situation is secure."
A spokesman for the local Red Cross said more than 160 rescue workers were sent to the scene.
Several rescue helicopters were also in operation, while a special emergency protocol was activated to ensure medical care for numerous injured individuals.
European leaders 'horrified' by shooting
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote in German on X: "The news from Graz hits home. My thoughts are with the victims, their families, and friends."
"Schools are symbols of youth, hope, and the future," she added. "It is difficult to bear when schools become places of death and violence."
European Council President António Costa said he was "horrified by the news of the school shooting in Graz."
"A senseless act of violence in a place where children should feel safe and protected," he wrote on X.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Friedrich Merz also extended their condolences over the deadly shooting.
"It was with great dismay and deep sadness that I learnt of the act of violence in Graz, in which so many innocent people lost their lives," Steinmeier wrote to his Austrian counterpart Van der Bellen.
"Your German neighbours are with you in their hearts," Steinmeier said.
Merz sent a message to Stocker, saying he was "deeply shocked that young people were torn from their lives so abruptly."
Three days of mourning to be announced
Austria will observe three days of national mourning following the deadly shooting. A minute's silence will be observed across the country on Wednesday.
Flags at the presidential office, the chancellery and other official buildings are to be flown at half-mast during the mourning period.
Graz, in south-eastern Austria, is home to around 300,000 people.
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