Austria school shooting: What we know about the victims and shooter
A lone gunman killed nine people, including students and one adult, and injured 12 at a school in Graz, Austria, marking one of the country's worst mass shootings.
The shooting occurred at the BORG Dreierschutzengasse secondary school around 10 a.m., prompting a large-scale emergency response.
The shooter was identified as a 21-year-old former student of the school who legally owned the two firearms used in the attack and is believed to have taken his own life in the school's toilet.
Authorities have launched an investigation to determine the shooter's motives, with Interior Minister Gerhard Karner confirming that six of the deceased were female and three were male, in addition to the shooter.
Austria has declared a three-day period of national mourning, with no public events to be held in the state of Styria, as leaders express grief and shock over the tragedy.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Sinister face behind Brooklyn Jewish terror plot revealed as suspect is hauled to America for justice
A Pakistani man accused of plotting a chilling ISIS-inspired mass shooting at a Jewish center in Brooklyn has been hauled to New York to face justice. Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, was extradited from Canada after allegedly scheming to unleash a terror attack targeting Jewish Americans with automatic rifles - on or around the anniversary of Hamas ' Oct. 7 massacre in Israel. Prosecutors say Khan aimed to 'kill as many members of our Jewish community as possible' in a horrifying attack meant to mirror the devastation of 9/11. Khan, who had been living in Quebec, was arrested last September by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) just 20 kilometers from the U.S. border. According to U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, Khan had been communicating with an undercover law enforcement officer posing as an ISIS sympathizer, laying out his entire plan - down to the AR-style rifles, ammunition, and getaway strategy. 'During one communication, Khan noted that "if we succeed with our plan this would be the largest attack on U.S. soil since 9/11",' prosecutors said in a statement. Khan began posting extremist propaganda online in late 2023 and soon connected with others via encrypted messaging apps, allegedly pledging support to ISIS and sharing attack blueprints with a U.S.-based co-conspirator. By August 2024, he allegedly switched his target to a Jewish community center in Brooklyn, with plans to carry out the shooting near the one-year mark of the Hamas-led rampage that left more than 1,200 people dead in Israel. Khan is now facing multiple charges in the U.S., including attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and attempting to commit terrorism transcending national borders. If convicted, he faces life in prison. The shocking case has sent ripples through Jewish communities in New York and beyond, with authorities praising the undercover operation that stopped the alleged plot before it could be carried out. The allegations have not yet been proven in court. The case comes amid rising fears over anti-Semitic violence nationwide—just days after a pro-Israel rally in Colorado was firebombed in what the FBI is calling a 'targeted terror attack.' Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, allegedly injured eight people—aged 52 to 88—after launching a Molotov cocktail-style attack at a peaceful rally in Boulder on Sunday during the Jewish holiday of Shavuot. Terrifying footage showed victims lying motionless beside Israeli flags as flames erupted. One man was reportedly set ablaze. Soliman, shirtless and holding bottles of alcohol, yelled 'End Zionists' and 'Free Palestine' before hurling incendiary devices into the crowd, according to the ADL. The FBI labeled it a 'targeted terror attack,' while Colorado's Attorney General said it appeared to be a hate crime. Soliman first entered the U.S. in 2022 on a visa under the Biden administration, overstayed it, and was later granted a work permit through 2025, officials confirmed. He was arrested without incident but also hospitalized for minor injuries. One victim remains in critical condition. Police evacuated several blocks around Boulder's Pearl Street Mall.
The Guardian
12 hours ago
- The Guardian
'A big win for everyone': Harvey Weinstein accusers express relief after guilty verdict
Weinstein was found guilty of sexually assaulting Miriam Haley, but was acquitted of a second charge of sexually assaulting Kaja Sokola by a jury in Manhattan on Wednesday. After a three-week trial, Hayley and Sokola told the press they hoped their testimonies would encourage other victims of sexual assault to speak up. The verdict delivered against Weinstein follows two earlier convictions on similar charges, one of which was overturned on appeal
The Independent
15 hours ago
- The Independent
Austria falls silent for victims of Graz school shooting
Austria fell silent for a minute on Wednesday in memory of the 10 victims of a school shooting in Graz that ended with the gunman taking his own life. Hundreds of people lined the central square in Austria's second-biggest city; some laid more candles and flowers in front of the city hall, adding to a growing memorial to the victims. Meanwhile, neighbours and officials painted the picture of the suspect as a withdrawn young man who attracted little attention before Tuesday's gun rampage. Authorities have given few details about the 21-year-old, which Austrian media have referred to as Arthur A., except that he failed to complete his studies at the Dreierschatzengasse high school in Graz. Police said they found a farewell letter and a non-functional pipe bomb when they searched his home. He is believed to have used two weapons, a shotgun and a handgun, which he owned legally. 'A farewell letter in analogue and digital form was found,' said Franz Ruf, the public security director at Austria's Interior Ministry. In the commuter town of Kalsdorf bei Graz, where he lived, residents were stunned to learn the quiet neighbour they barely noticed was behind Austria's first mass school shooting. 'He was totally inconspicuous. He didn't attract any negative attention, nor did he integrate into our community in any way,' said Manfred Komericky, mayor of the town. The family's letterbox had been taped over by Wednesday afternoon, any trace of their name no longer apparent. Of over a dozen residents spoken to by Reuters, few wanted to speak at all. Some said they had seen the man. None said they knew him. Neighbours said the suspect lived with his mother in a ground floor apartment at one end of the estate with leafy gardens over which a large concrete grain silo looms. Planes taking off from the airport can be seen in the distance. Austrian newspapers Kronen Zeitung and Heute published pictures of a slight youth with a long fringe they described as the alleged perpetrator, one of which showed him holding a cat. According to Heute, investigators said he did not have a personal profile on social media. Police declined to comment. Details of his life after he left school were scarce. Heute said he struggled to find work. Police found a non-functional pipe bomb and a discarded plan for a bomb attack at his home. Thomas Gasser, 38, a supermarket manager who lived in the building opposite the suspect for years, described him as small and generally wearing a cap and headphones, covered up. Contact with the family was minimal, Gasser said. 'It's just that we hardly ever saw them,' he explained. Officials said the suspect opened fire on pupils and staff at the school with a pistol and shotgun before shooting himself in a toilet in the building. Austrian media reported that he felt bullied, though police have not confirmed this. The massacre on Tuesday was the bloodiest episode in the postwar history of Graz, and eclipsed a previous nadir: the 2015 killing of three people and injuring of many more by a man who drove his vehicle into a crowded Graz shopping street. The news that the school shooting suspect lived in Kalsdorf was an unwelcome reminder of those days - because the driver in the vehicle attack also lived in the same Graz suburb.
