Nine shot dead in Austria high school shooting
At least nine people have been shot dead at a secondary school in the Austrian city of Graz.
Several students and at least one adult were among those killed in the mass shooting, authorities have confirmed.
The suspected shooter was also reported dead.
Several others were seriously injured in the attack on Tuesday morning at the BORG Dreierschützengasse high school, which Austria's chancellor has condemned as a 'national tragedy'.
The perpetrator, who acted alone, has been described by local media as a 22-year-old former male student who had been a victim of bullying at the school.
At around 10am local time (9am BST), rounds of loud gunshots followed by screams were heard in footage filmed inside classrooms of the school.
Dozens of police cars and ambulances raced to the school, 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, the shooter was dead and the danger was over. The perpetrator is believed to have killed himself.
Police have not yet provided an exact death toll or number of casualties, however, the injured, reported to be over a dozen, had to be taken to several hospitals in the area and a mass casualty event was declared.
Christian Stocker, the Austrian chancellor, said: 'The rampage at a school in Graz is a national tragedy that has deeply shaken our entire country. There are no words for the pain and grief that we all – all of Austria – are feeling right now.'
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.'
Austria has one of the most heavily armed civilian populations in Europe, with an estimated 30 firearms per 100 persons.
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.
Here's a reminder of what happened today:
Gunshots were heard inside a school in the Austrian city of Graz this morning
It was initially reported that there were five casualties but police later raised this to 10
Special forces were among those sent to the BORG Dreierschützengasse high school after a call at 10am local time
According to Austrian newspaper Krone, the suspected shooter was found dead inside the toilets of the school
Elke Kahr, the mayor of Graz, called the deadly school shooting a 'terrible tragedy'
According to media reports, the perpetrator, who acted alone, is a 22-year-old former male student who had been a victim of bullying at the school
At least 30 people are believed to have been injured in the shooting attack, Austrian press is reporting.
Police have also said that several people were seriously injured.
The wounded have been taking to several hospitals, but final casualty numbers have not been officially confirmed.
According to media reports, the perpetrator, who acted alone, is a 22-year-old former male student who had been a victim of bullying at the school.
He was allegedly carrying two weapons - a pistol and a shotgun.
Austrian police said ten people were dead, including the perpetrator, after a shooting at a school in the city of Graz, confirming earlier media reports.
Several people were also seriously injured in the attack, they said.
Austria has one of the most heavily armed civilian populations in Europe, with an estimated 30 firearms per 100 persons, according to the Small Arms Survey, an independent research project.
Machine guns and pump action guns are banned, while revolvers, pistols and semi-automatic weapons are allowed only with official authorisation.
Rifles and shotguns are permitted with a firearms licence or a valid hunting licence, or for members of traditional shooting clubs.
Four people were killed and 22 injured when a convicted jihadist went on a shooting spree in the centre of Vienna in 2020.
Christian Stocker, Austria's chancellor, said a shooting at a school in the city of Graz was a 'national tragedy'.
'The rampage at a school in Graz is a national tragedy that has deeply shaken our entire country,' Mr Stocker said.
'There are no words for the pain and grief that we all - all of Austria - are feeling right now,' he added
The perpetrator in a school shooting in the Austrian city of Graz is among the dead, Austrian police have announced.
Local media report that he is a 22-year-old former student.
Unconfirmed reports say he considered himself a victim of bullying,
Credit: X / @d3miniic
Among those killed are seven students and one adult, Elke Kahr, the mayor of Graz, said.
The mayor has not yet provided the age of the remaining individual.
Credit: x / @d3miniic
At least ten people were reported killed, including the suspect, and a number of others injured, the city's mayor said, revising her earlier reported death toll of nine.
Graz Mayor Elke Kahr, quoted by Austrian news agency APA, said many injured had also been taken to hospital following the shooting.
Gerhard Karne, Austria's interior minister, is en route to the school.
Political events have been cancelled for the day across party lines.
Austrian police are working on the assumption there was just one suspect in the school shooting.
The suspected shooter was earlier confirmed as dead.
Mark Nolden, 22, a student who lives near the school, said: 'I live across the street in the housing estate, and I know a few of the children who attend this school.'
'This is a huge shock for me. I hope everyone is okay. It's a situation like something out of a movie, above all the uncertainty,' he told Steirekrone newspaper.
Elke Kahr, the mayor of Graz, has called the deadly school shooting a 'terrible tragedy'.
At the scene, she told reporters: 'All emergency services are acting cautiously.'
Ms Kahr said the wounded has been taken to hospital, while parents and children are reuniting at a local hall.
Police have now announced the school is secure.
'The school was evacuated and all persons were taken to a safe meeting point,' local police said in a post on X.
The death toll from the school shooting has risen to 10, according to multiple media reports.
Police have confirmed that several people were killed, including teachers and students, but have not provided a final death toll.
Gunshots and screams have been heard in footage filmed near the school, verified by The Telegraph.
At least two loud shots were heard coming from the school.
Credit: X / @d3miniic
According to Austrian newspaper Krone, the suspected shooter was found dead inside the toilets of the school.
Austrian police earlier said they appeared to have killed himself.
The Austrian commando unit 'Cobra' has been deployed to the scene, say police.
Cobra is an elite tactical unit which specialises in dealing with armed criminals, terrorism, and high-risk policing operations.
The public have been urged to avoid the area, while video footage of the scene showed a helicopter flying overhead.
A disaster alert has been issued for local hospitals in the area and the wounded students have been taken to a nearby concert hall, according to witness and media reports.
Special forces were among those sent to the BORG Dreierschützengasse high school after a call at 10 a.m.
Police said an hour later that the deployment was still ongoing and that it involved a helicopter.
Graz, Austria's second-biggest city, is the capital city of the southern province of Styria and is home to roughly 300,000 people.
Credit: X / @gundemedairhs / @officialrnintel
Austria's interior ministry has now confirmed that there are several fatalities, including the suspected perpetrator.
According to police spokesman Fritz Grundnig, he is believed to have killed himself.
Several people are also reported to have been seriously injured, including students and teachers.
According to Krone, an Austrian newspaper, some students have managed to escape the school and have been reunited with their parents.
Injured students are receiving medical attention at the nearby Helmut List Hall.
The shooting took place close to the tenth anniversary of a mass shooting in Graz on June 20, 2015, in which three people were killed.
According to police, gunshots were heard inside the school and the alarm was raised.
The building is currently being meticulously searched, according to local media reports.
Numerous police units are at the scene at BORG (community-running barracks) in Dreierschützengasse.
The local police has not provided an update in the last 50 minutes.
Its last update said a 'police operation is underway'.
We are hearing reports of a school shooting in the Austrian city of Graz, with unconfirmed reports of five casualties.
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