Austrian police search for answers after mass shooting in school
People light candles outside the site of a deadly shooting at a secondary school, in Graz, Austria, on Wednesday.
By Francois Murphy
Austrian authorities were searching on Wednesday for answers to why a 21-year-old gunman shot 10 people in a rampage at his former high school before killing himself, one of the worst outbreaks of violence in the country's modern history.
Police said the man, armed with a shotgun and a pistol, acted alone. They are scouring his home and the internet for clues to why he opened fire on the school in Austria's second city of Graz on Tuesday, before shooting himself in a bathroom.
Police added that a pipe bomb found at his home was not functional.
Some Austrian media have said the young man, who has not been identified, apparently felt bullied, though police have yet to confirm this. Austrian authorities said the suspect never completed his studies at the school.
He left a farewell note that did not reveal the motive for the attack, police 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 national broadcaster ORF on Tuesday night.
Around 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.
Details of the attack have emerged slowly.
Austrian police said victims were found both outside and inside the school, on various floors. About a dozen people were injured in the attack, some seriously.
Austria declared three days of national mourning, with the shootings prompting a rare show of solidarity among often bitterly divided political parties. Parents of pupils and neighbors of the school struggled to make sense of the event.
Hundreds came together in Graz's main square on Tuesday evening to remember the victims. Others left flowers and lit candles outside the school. Dozens also queued to donate blood for the survivors.
© (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025.
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The Mainichi
a day ago
- The Mainichi
A former student opens fire at an Austrian school, killing 10 and taking his own life
GRAZ, Austria (AP) -- A former student opened fire at a school in Austria's second-biggest city Tuesday, killing 10 people and wounding 12 others before taking his own life, authorities said. There was no immediate information on the motive of the 21-year-old man, who had no previous police record. He used two weapons, which he was believed to have owned legally, police said. "Today is a dark day in the history of our country," Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker told reporters in Graz, a city of about 300,000 people in southeastern Austria. He called it "a national tragedy that shocks us deeply" and said there would be three days of national mourning, with the Austrian flag lowered to half-staff at official buildings. A national minute of silence was to be held Wednesday morning in memory of the victims. Special forces were among those sent to the BORG Dreierschutzengasse high school, about a kilometer (over half a mile) from Graz's historic center, after calls at 10 a.m. reporting shots at the building. More than 300 police officers were sent to the school, which was evacuated. Footage from the scene showed students filing out quickly past armed officers. Police said security was restored in 17 minutes. The assailant, who acted alone, was a 21-year-old Austrian man who lived near Graz, police said. His name wasn't released. Regional police chief Gerald Ortner said two firearms -- a long gun and a handgun -- were used in the shooting and recovered from the scene, and that the assailant was apparently legally in possession of them. The man took his own life in a bathroom. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said the gunman had been a student at the school and hadn't completed his studies. He didn't specify when the man left the school or at what age. Karner said Tuesday afternoon that six of the dead were female and three male, but didn't give further information. He said 12 people were wounded. The state hospital in Graz later said that a 10th victim, an adult woman, had died of her injuries, the Austria Press Agency reported. Austria's Red Cross said it had deployed 65 ambulances to the scene and 158 emergency staffers were helping treat the injured. In addition, 40 specially trained psychologists were counseling students and parents. The Red Cross also called on locals to come forward and donate blood. Metin Ozden was in his kebab restaurant near the school when he first heard police cars sped by, and then a police helicopter above. He told the Krone newspaper: "I knew something bad had happened. ... I've never seen so many emergency services in my entire life." He also described to the paper seeing parents walking past his restaurant and crying on the way to the school. Tuesday's violence appeared to be the deadliest attack in Austria's post-World War II history. In 2020, four people were killed in Vienna and the suspect, a sympathizer of the Islamic State group, also died in a shooting. More than 20 other people, including a police officer, were wounded. In June 2015, a man killed three people and injured more than 30 when he drove through a crowd in downtown Graz with an SUV. Austria, which has a strong tradition of hunting, has some of the more liberal gun laws in the European Union. Some weapons, such as rifles and shotguns that must be reloaded manually after each shot, can be purchased in Austria from the age of 18 without a permit. Gun dealers only need to check if there's no weapons ban on the buyer and the weapon gets registered in the central weapons register. Other weapons, such as repeating shotguns or semi-automatic firearms, are more difficult to acquire -- buyers need a gun ownership card and a firearms pass.
Japan Today
a day ago
- Japan Today
Austrian police search for answers after mass shooting in school
People light candles outside the site of a deadly shooting at a secondary school, in Graz, Austria, on Wednesday. By Francois Murphy Austrian authorities were searching on Wednesday for answers to why a 21-year-old gunman shot 10 people in a rampage at his former high school before killing himself, one of the worst outbreaks of violence in the country's modern history. Police said the man, armed with a shotgun and a pistol, acted alone. They are scouring his home and the internet for clues to why he opened fire on the school in Austria's second city of Graz on Tuesday, before shooting himself in a bathroom. Police added that a pipe bomb found at his home was not functional. Some Austrian media have said the young man, who has not been identified, apparently felt bullied, though police have yet to confirm this. Austrian authorities said the suspect never completed his studies at the school. He left a farewell note that did not reveal the motive for the attack, police 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 national broadcaster ORF on Tuesday night. Around 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. Details of the attack have emerged slowly. Austrian police said victims were found both outside and inside the school, on various floors. About a dozen people were injured in the attack, some seriously. Austria declared three days of national mourning, with the shootings prompting a rare show of solidarity among often bitterly divided political parties. Parents of pupils and neighbors of the school struggled to make sense of the event. Hundreds came together in Graz's main square on Tuesday evening to remember the victims. Others left flowers and lit candles outside the school. Dozens also queued to donate blood for the survivors. © (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025.
Japan Times
2 days ago
- Japan Times
Former student kills 10 people and himself in shooting at Austrian school
A former student killed 10 people and himself at a secondary school in Austria's second-largest city, Graz, on Tuesday in the worst school shooting in Austria's modern history. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said six of those killed at the school were female and three were male, without giving any details of their ages. Graz Hospital later confirmed the death of a 10th person. Karner said another dozen people had been injured but gave no further details about the victims. Austrian media said most were students. 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. His motive remained unclear. Director General of Public Security Franz Ruf told state broadcaster ORF that victims were found outside and inside the school on various floors, adding the gunman had been armed with both a shotgun and a pistol, both found at the scene. Chancellor Christian Stocker called the shooting a "dark day in the history of our country." "There are no words for the pain and grief that we all — all of Austria — are feeling right now." Stocker traveled to Graz where, at a press conference alongside officials including Karner, he announced three days of national mourning. A minute's silence was set for 10 a.m. on Wednesday. Ruf also told ORF the suspect had left behind a farewell letter, both in analogue and digital form, in which he said goodbye to his parents but gave no indication of a motive, which was still being investigated. More than 300 police were called in after shots were heard around 10 a.m. at the school, which is for students age 15 and above. Ambulances also arrived within minutes as the premises were cordoned off. The Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper said in an unconfirmed report that the suspect had opened fire on students in two classrooms, one of which had once been his own. It said he had been a victim of bullying. 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. Four people were killed and 22 injured when a convicted jihadist went on a shooting spree in the center of Vienna in 2020. In November 1997, a 36-year-old mechanic shot dead six people in the town of Mauterndorf before killing himself.
