Nine people killed in school shooting in Austria's Graz
Nine people have been killed and at least 10 injured in a shooting at a school in the Austrian city of Graz.
Police were deployed to the BORG Dreierschutzengasse school in Austria's second largest city on Tuesday morning after shots were heard.
The suspected attacker is also dead, according to the Austrian Press Agency, bringing the total death toll to 10.
Police said they arrived at the school shortly after the shots were reported and secured the premises.
'No further danger is expected,' the police said, adding that students had been evacuated and were receiving support from a crisis intervention team along with their parents.
Among those killed are at least seven students, Graz Mayor Elke Kahr said, describing the attack as a 'terrible tragedy'. At least one adult was also killed.
The Kronen Zeitung newspaper reported that at least 10 people were wounded.
Mario Kunasek, governor of the southeastern Austrian state of Styria, of which Graz is the capital, expressed condolences to families of the victims.
'As a father, I am deeply saddened by this insane act, which has caused so much harm and incredible suffering,' he said. 'My thoughts are with the innocent victims, families and teachers.'
The Kronen Zeitung reported shots were first heard about 10am (08:00 GMT) and the attack was carried out across two classrooms at the upper secondary school, which is attended by pupils 14 years and older.
Police said they're working on the assumption that there was a sole suspect.
Media reported that the perpetrator, who died by suicide, is a former student of the school and said the attack is one of the country's worst mass shootings.
Graz is located in southeastern Austria and has a population of about 300,000 people.
Chancellor Christian Stocker is on his way to the school, a spokeswoman said. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner was also expected at the scene.
A spokeswoman for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the killings 'absolutely horrible and tragic'.
'We would like to offer our deepest condolences to the families of the victims and the entire city of Graz. We stand together in mourning while we seek clarity in the wake of this horrible event,' she said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Jazeera
37 minutes ago
- Al Jazeera
Pulse massacre survivors in Florida to revisit nightclub before it is razed
Survivors and family members of the 49 victims killed at an LGBTQ+ friendly nightclub in the United States have gotten their first chance to walk through it before it is demolished and replaced with a permanent memorial to what at the time was considered the worst mass shooting in modern US history. In small groups over four days starting Wednesday, survivors and family members of those killed plan to spend half an hour at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, where Omar Mateen opened fire during a Latin night celebration on June 12, 2016, leaving 49 dead and 53 wounded. Mateen, who had pledged allegiance to ISIL (ISIS), was killed after a three-hour standoff with police. The Pulse shooting's death toll was surpassed the following year when 58 people were killed and more than 850 injured among a crowd of 22,000 at a country music festival in Las Vegas. The city of Orlando purchased the Pulse property in 2023 for $2m and plans to build a $12m permanent memorial that will open in 2027. These efforts follow a fumbled attempt to create a memorial over many years by a private foundation run by the club's former owner. The existing structure will be razed later this year. 'None of us thought that it would take nine years to get to this point, and we can't go back and relitigate all of the failures along the way that have happened. But what we can do is control how we move forward together,' Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said two weeks ago, when county commissioners pledged $5m to support the city of Orlando's plan. The opportunity to visit the nightclub comes on the ninth anniversary of the mass shooting. About 250 survivors and family members of those killed have responded to the city's invitation to walk through the nightclub this week. Families of the 49 people who were killed can visit the site with up to six people in their group, and survivors can bring one person with them. The club has been cleaned, and lighting has been installed ahead of the walk-throughs. The people invited to visit are being given the chance to ask FBI agents who investigated the massacre about what happened. Mental health counsellors will be available to talk to those who walk through the building in what could be both a healing and traumatic moment for them. 'The building may come down, and we may finally get a permanent memorial, but that doesn't change the fact that this community has been scarred for life,' said Brandon Wolf, who survived the massacre by hiding in a bathroom as the gunman opened fire. He does not plan to visit the site. 'There are people inside the community who still need and will continue to need support and resources.'
Al Jazeera
5 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
UK sanctions Israeli ministers for 'inciting violence'
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy says the UK has sanctioned far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich for inciting violence against Palestinians.
Al Jazeera
9 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Austrian police find bomb plans at shooting suspect's home as nation mourns
Austrian police investigating a school mass shooting in the city of Graz this week said they had found discarded plans for a bomb attack at the suspect's home, as the grief-stricken country embarked on three days of national mourning. Investigators said on Wednesday that they had discovered abandoned plans for a bombing, a non-functional pipe bomb and a farewell letter and video during a search of the home of the dead suspect, who shot dead 10 people during the previous day's rampage at the city's BORG Dreierschützengasse high school, before pulling the trigger on himself in a school toilet. Police said the 21-year-old, a former student of the school, had acted alone, his farewell note revealing no motive for the attack. Austrian media reported the suspected gunman had been bullied at school, but police have not confirmed that as of yet. The mass shooting killed nine students – six girls and three boys aged between 14 and 17, one of whom had Polish citizenship – as well as a teacher, leaving 11 wounded. Austria came to a standstill at 10am (08:00 GMT) on Wednesday – the time of the previous day's carnage – to commemorate the dead. There will be one minute's silence on the first of three days of national mourning following what appeared to be the deadliest attack in the country's post-World War II history. In Vienna, St Stephen's Cathedral rang its bells, collective transport came to a halt and public broadcaster ORF paused all radio and TV programmes, broadcasting images of candles and a message to say the country was mourning the victims. In Graz, Austria's second-biggest city, close to where the assailant lived with his mother, hundreds of people lined the central square, laying candles and flowers in front of the city hall, adding to a growing memorial to the victims. The suspected gunman, who has not been formally identified, had not completed his studies at the school, according to the authorities. 'It's surreal, you can't describe or really understand it,' said Ennio Resnik, a pupil at the school, speaking to reporters outside a centre where students were being offered counselling. Some of the students gathered there cried, while others held each other. Franz Ruf, director general of public security, told ORF on Tuesday that investigations into the motive were moving swiftly. 'We don't want to speculate at this point,' he said. Police have said that he used two weapons, a shotgun and a pistol, which he owned legally. By Wednesday morning, the authority that runs hospitals in Graz said that all patients were in a stable condition. Nine were still in intensive care units, with one needing a further operation on a facial wound and a second on a knee injury, while another two had been moved to regular wards. Police said none of their lives were in danger and that the wounded people, among them two Romanian nationals and an Iranian citizen, were aged between 15 and 26.
