2 days ago
Plans for bomb attack found in Austrian school shooting suspect's home
dpa
Vienna
Discarded plans for a bomb attack were found at the home of the suspected perpetrator of a deadly school shooting rampage in the Austrian city of Graz, police said on Wednesday.
Police also found a non-functioning pipe bomb during a search of the home of the 21-year-old, who had previously attended the school but not graduated. The suspect opened fire before taking his own life in a bathroom, leaving a total of 11 people dead, most of them teens, police said.
The gunman used two legally owned weapons to carry out the mass attack, according to Austrian authorities.
His motive is not yet known. According to the police, a farewell letter and video from the attacker contained no clues.
Reports that he had been bullied have not yet been confirmed by the authorities.
The young man had been a student at the high school until two years ago and had repeated a school year several times, Franz Ruf, a senior official at the Interior Ministry, told radio station Ö1. Police said he lived with his mother.
Due to the risk of copycat crimes the police have now stepped up security at schools in Austria. In addition, around 400 special forces across the country are on high alert, according to reports.
Officials also updated their information on the victims of the shooting. According to the latest reports, six girls and three boys aged between 14 and 17 died at the scene. Police had initially reported that the victims were aged between 15 and 17.
A seriously injured teacher died in hospital from her injuries. One of the dead was a Polish national, the others were Austrian citizens.
Eleven injured people, aged between 15 and 26, are still being treated in hospital and are in stable condition, police and hospital operator Kages said.
