Austrian school shooter planned attack but motive still unclear, officials say
However, he appears to have shot his victims at random, and investigators have still not been able to ascertain his motive.
A police officer guards the entrance of a school where a former student opened fire (Darko Bandic/AP)
The 21-year-old had left the BORG Dreierschutzengasse high school in Graz three years previously, breaking off his studies after attending for three years, police say.
They said they knew of no personal connection between the gunman and the students he had shot, but that one of the two teachers he shot had once taught him.
Officials were still investigating whether that was a factor in the attack.
The incident prompted Austria to declare three days of national mourning and large numbers of candles have been laid in Graz's main square and outside the school.
The assailant, an Austrian man who lived with his mother near Graz and whom officials have declined to identify, used a Mercury double-barrelled shotgun and a Glock 19 handgun in the shooting.
People commemorate the victims of a shooting at a school (Darko Bandic/AP)
Michael Lohnegger, the head of Styria province's criminal police office, said that he arrived at the school on Tuesday morning with a backpack containing the weapons, and put on equipment including shooting glasses and a headset in the bathroom before starting a roughly seven-minute shooting spree.
The gunman opened fire indiscriminately on the building's third floor before shooting open the locked door of a fourth-floor classroom and again firing indiscriminately, Mr Lohnegger told a news conference.
Mr Lohnegger said that the gunman had enough ammunition to continue shooting and it was unclear why he had not.
The gunman then returned to the bathroom and fatally shot himself in the head.
A search of his home uncovered a farewell letter and a video, which Mr Lohnegger said added up to 'an apology directed to his family for the crime and a general thank you', but offered 'no indication for the motive'.
Investigators have yet to ascertain a motive for the shooting (Darko Bandic/AP)
Authorities also found a handwritten note that showed he had planned the attack 'down to the smallest detail', setting out how he would proceed but giving no date for the crime.
The note had suggested that he had lacked enough time to build a fully functional pipe bomb. Investigators had found one, but it would not have worked.
Mr Lohnegger said a picture had emerged of a 'very introverted person' who largely did not take part in real-world activities and that his great passion was playing online first-person shooter games.
'But even here, there is no information from his personal surroundings that he ever expressed any anger or resentment towards the school, students or teachers,' he added.
The man had no previous police record and 'there were definitely no particular problems with him at this school'.
The gunman was in unspecified vocational training at the time of the attack, investigators added.
Austrian President Alexander van Der Bellen attends a wreath-laying ceremony after a former student opened fire, killing 10 people and injuring many others before taking his own life (Darko Bandic/AP)
He had bought the shotgun legally in Graz in early April and the handgun was bought from another shop in the city in late May.
He had a licence to own the weapons that required a report from a psychological expert, which was allegedly produced in March.
The gunman also took part in shooting practice five times in March at a shooting club in Graz using a hired firearm, Mr Lohnegger said.
Six girls and three boys aged between 14 and 17 and a teacher were killed in the attack.
Eleven people were wounded and authorities said that their lives were not in danger.
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Daily Mirror
31 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Austria school shooter posted twisted photo of himself minutes before massacre
Gunman Artur A showed himself in the toilet of Dreierschützengasse high school in Graz, dressed in black jump boots and black army style trousers - minutes before his deadly seven-minute attack The Austria school massacre gunman posted sick images of himself just minutes before he slaughtered nine pupils and a teacher. Artur A photographed himself in the toilet of Dreierschützengasse high school in Graz minutes before Tuesday's seven-minute attack. The image shows him, dressed in black jump boots and black army style trousers, hiding in a cubicle as he gets ready for his murder mission, taking an image from his lap. He posted the photo on X; he also left a video message for his mother, and a suicide note. It was published at 9.43am on Tuesday, just five minutes before he entered two classrooms to murder nine boys and girls, and one teacher. He also posted an image of his weapons, a Mercury double-barrelled shotgun and a Glock 19 handgun, with the sick message: "Veeeeerrry early birthday present for myself." His social media profiles also mention the Columbine school massacre in the US with an image of the killer and a message, again in English, stating: "They look like Monsters to you?" The posts emerged as police built up a profile of the killer, a loner who was obsessed with online gaming. They revealed that he had few friends and spent most of his free time playing Call of Duty or Valorant as an 'on-line shooter'. He had been obsessed with Columbine and other US school massacres. One of his followers posted the message 'my hero' beneath one reference to Columbine, which resulted in 14 deaths in 1999. It was carried out by gunmen, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who also took their own lives after the shooting. Artur posted images of the guns on the platform Tumblr days before the Fraz attack. He was due to turn 22 in a matter of weeks. He carried out the massacre in just seven minutes, police revealed. He shot through a classroom door after terrified pupils had barricaded themselves inside as he carried out his murder mission. The first police response team arrived within six minutes of the alarm being raised at 10am on Tuesday. Elite Cobra anti terror officers entered the building after 17 minutes. But it was too late. They found only bodies, horrified survivors and multiple casualties. Artur, who said he was bullied at the school, had been planning his rampage for months. He fired indiscriminately, killing the child of one of his neighbours in the bloodshed. He had made plans for a bomb attack found alongside a 'non functional' pipe device at his home. Artur A did not know the pupils he killed but one of the two teachers he shot had once taught him. He had also been to a local firing range in the weeks leading up to the attack and was armed with a Mercury double-barrelled shotgun and a Glock 19 handgun in the shooting. Michael Lohnegger, the head of Styria province's criminal police office, said that he had a backpack containing the weapons. He put on equipment including shooting glasses and a headset in the bathroom before starting the seven-minute shooting spree. He opened fire on the building's third floor before shooting open the locked door of a fourth-floor classroom. Once inside, he again fired indiscriminately. He had enough ammunition to continue shooting but instead went to a bathroom and fatally shot himself in the head. He left a farewell letter and video, "an apology for the crime and a thank you" to his mum, but offered "no motive". Authorities also found a handwritten note that showed he had planned the attack "down to the smallest detail". 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Six girls and three boys aged between 14 and 17 and a female teacher, 57, were killed in the attack. The 11 injured, aged between 15 and 26, are not in a critical condition. Artur, who has not been officially named, was born in Styria, the region which includes Graz, Austria's second biggest city. He lived with his single mum, who was also Austrian. His dad, of Armenian origin, had not lived with them since his parents' separation. Hundreds of people will be interviewed by police and the attack may be reconstructed. The quick response time on Tuesday "appeared to have saved lives". President Alexander van der Bellen suggested Austria's gun laws could be changed in the wake of the attack. "If we come to the conclusion that the gun law needs to be changed, then we will do so," he said. Relatives of the victims and school pupils are being cared for at a crisis intervention centre set up across the road from the school.
Scottish Sun
2 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
I delved into world of ‘righteous slaughter' school shooters & chilling psychological cocktail that drives them to kill
Experts reveal the reasons behind the chilling global rise in school shootings MASSACRE MONSTERS I delved into world of 'righteous slaughter' school shooters & chilling psychological cocktail that drives them to kill Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) PICTURED staring intensely into the camera lens while cuddling his beloved cat, he looks just like any other young teen. But between dropping out of sixth form and turning 21, something dark grew in the mind of student Artur A - the man responsible for a shooting spree at his old school in Austria. 17 Artur A killed 10 in a rampage in his school in Graz, Austria 17 Lea Ilir Bajrami, 15, tragically lost her life in the attack in Graz Credit: Facebook 17 Emergency workers bring victims out of the school building Credit: AP On Tuesday, that festering resentment saw him walk into two classrooms at BORG Dreirschutzengasse high school in Graz and open fire with a Glock pistol and a shotgun. Today 10 families are mourning his victims, mostly teenagers who had their whole lives ahead of them before they were gunned down in cold blood. Lea Ilir Bajrami and Hana Akmadžićis, both 15, were among the six girls and three boys between 14 and 17 to be killed along with a 59-year-old teacher. Yet those grieving might never know the exact reason why their loved ones were murdered. 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Some will have a personality disorder or other underlying mental health issues. "The 64,000 dollar question is whether it's nature or nurture. For me, it is a messy combination of the two.' 'Justified' in killing Artur A, who killed himself in the school's toilets, is said to have been badly bullied by fellow pupils before leaving sixth form without qualifications. He was only known to police as a victim of pick-pocketing. In a 'farewell letter', he reportedly said goodbye to his parents and framed himself as the victim of bullying, reports Krone. He is also said to have recorded a video and sent it to his mum, speaking about the imminent atrocity, saying he was acting 'of his own free will' and asked her to look after his cat. 17 Hundreds of candles were lit in the main square of Graz Credit: AP 17 Mourners pay their respects at the makeshift shrine Credit: AFP Police later discovered a disassembled pipe bomb at his home. 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South Wales Argus
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- South Wales Argus
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