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New Straits Times
3 days ago
- New Straits Times
Austrians endure shock, horror after gunman kills 10 at school
AUSTRIANS were dumbfounded by grief and horror after a 21-year-old gunman killed 10 people in a high school shooting spree on Tuesday morning, unleashing a new kind of violence to the Alpine country unaccustomed to such slayings. Parents of pupils, top government officials and local residents in the southern city of Graz were lost for words after the young man, who has not been named, opened fire at the school where he had recently been a pupil. "Terrible. There's nothing else to make of it, is there?" said Monika Leiner, a 55-year-old IT consultant who lives near the school. "I'm a bit older, and I've seen quite a few things but I can't remember (a shooting with) so many deaths." Police have given no motive for the killings though Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung said officers found a farewell letter during a search of the suspect's home. Authorities said the man did not graduate from the school and Austrian media published unconfirmed reports he had suffered from bullying. Hundreds of police rushed to the scene after shots rang out at around 10 a.m. Shortly afterwards the perpetrator was dead, having shot himself in a toilet, authorities said. The killings were the worst Austrian school shooting on record. The government declared three days of national mourning and political parties cancelled upcoming events. In the afternoon, people arrived to leave flowers and candles by the school. President Alexander Van der Bellen said it was hard to express what the country was feeling. "This horror cannot be put into words," he said. Long queues also formed outside a blood donation centre in Graz. "Today is a hard day for all of us in Graz. I'm here to (donate) my blood to help other people who need it," 25-year-old Stephanie Koenig told Reuters. Police cordoned off the school and few parents of pupils there have so far made their feelings public. The mother of one pupil told state broadcaster ORF that her son had called her during the shooting. "It's impossible to grasp," said the woman, who was not named by the broadcaster. "I was just happy that he was on the phone and that I could hear him. But now I keep thinking about how others are doing." "He just told me that he had to run out and that he'd hidden in the garden. Everything else is too much for me now, including everything else he said," she added. Nola, a 21-year-old student and local resident, told Reuters a friend of one of her friends was among the victims. "A friend of mine goes to that school. She found out that a friend of hers died," she said. "She called me immediately afterwards in tears and said 'Hannah is dead! Hannah is dead!' and her parents were also beside themselves."
ABC News
3 days ago
- ABC News
Ten people killed and 12 injured in Austrian school shooting. Here's what we know
Austrians are in mourning after a lone gunman killed 10 people at a school in Graz and injured 12 more on Tuesday. It was the deadliest gun attack in the country's recent history. Details about the motive of the suspect, who was a former student, as well as information about the victims, were not immediately available. So here's what we know so far. A gunman opened fire on Tuesday morning at BORG Dreierschützengasse secondary school, near the historic centre of Graz. The police said they received reports of a shooting around 10am, local time, and responded with heavy force. Specially trained COBRA units — Austria's version of Tactical Response Teams (TRT) — arrived at the scene, as did a police helicopter. More than 300 officers responded. Astrid, a woman living with her husband Franz in the ground floor flat of the residential building next to the school, told the BBC she had just finished hanging out the washing when she heard gunfire. "I heard shots, lots of them, one after the other. "I went into the flat to my husband and told him, 'someone is shooting'". "He thought maybe it was something else, but we heard I reckon 30 to 40 shots. Then my husband rang the police." Monika Leiner, a 55-year-old IT consultant who lives near the school, said the shooting was "terrible". "I'm a bit older, and I've seen quite a few things but I can't remember a shooting with so many deaths," Ms Leiner told Reuters. At 11:30am, police wrote on social media that the school had been evacuated, with students sent to a nearby stadium. Austrian schools were closed on Monday for the Pentecost holiday, so students had just returned to classes after a long weekend. Eleven people were killed, including the shooter. 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. Another victim, a woman, later died at hospital. One of the victims was a 17-year-old French high school student, according to French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot. "Our thoughts and condolences go out to his family and friends." Director General of Public Security Franz Ruf told state broadcaster ORF that the victims were found outside and inside the school on various floors. Police said the gunman took his own life in a school bathroom shortly after the attack. A further 12 people were injured, some seriously, according to police. Authorities have said they would not release more information on the victims until preliminary investigations were finished. Police have not released the suspect's name. But they did tell reporters that the alleged perpetrator was a 21-year-old male from Graz. He's believed to be a former pupil who did not graduate. Police believe he used two guns — a shotgun and pistol — in the shooting, which he owned legally. The suspect was not known to police before the attack and a motive has not yet been determined. However, police found a note from the shooter during a search of his home. Mr Ruf told ORF the letter, both in analogue and digital form, included a farewell message to his parents. Graz is Austria's second-most populous city, with a population of about 300,000. The country's rate of firearm homicides was just 0.1 per 100,000 people in 2021, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. This is compared to 4.5 per 100,000 people in the US. But Austria has one of the most heavily armed civilian populations in Europe. There are an estimated 30 firearms per 100 people, according to a 2017 Small Arms Survey. Traditionally, many in the Alpine country go hunting, and it's more common to carry a weapon for that and less for self-defence. 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 is a weapons ban on the buyer, and the weapon is then added to the central weapons register. Other weapons, such as repeating shotguns or semiautomatic firearms, are more difficult to acquire — buyers need a gun ownership card and a firearms pass. Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker described the attack as a "national tragedy" in a statement posted on X. "The rampage at a school in Graz is a national tragedy that has deeply shaken our entire country," he wrote. "There are no words for the pain and grief that we all — all of Austria — are feeling right now." Mr Stocker announced that the country will hold three days of mourning. President Alexander Van Der Bellen said the victims were young people who "had their whole lives ahead of them". "There is nothing that can ease the pain felt by the parents, grandparents, siblings and friends of the murdered people at this moment." European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen wrote in an X post: "Schools are symbols of youth, hope, and the future. It's hard to bear when schools become places of death and violence." ABC with wires
Reuters
4 days ago
- Reuters
Austrians endure shock, horror after gunman kills 10 at school
GRAZ, Austria, June 10 (Reuters) - Austrians were dumbfounded by grief and horror after a 21-year-old gunman killed 10 people in a high school shooting spree on Tuesday morning, unleashing a new kind of violence to the Alpine country unaccustomed to such slayings. Parents of pupils, top government officials and local residents in the southern city of Graz were lost for words after the young man, who has not been named, opened fire at the school where he had recently been a pupil. "Terrible. There's nothing else to make of it, is there?" said Monika Leiner, a 55-year-old IT consultant who lives near the school. "I'm a bit older, and I've seen quite a few things but I can't remember (a shooting with) so many deaths." Police have given no motive for the killings though Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung said officers found a farewell letter during a search of the suspect's home. Authorities said the man did not graduate from the school and Austrian media published unconfirmed reports he had suffered from bullying. Hundreds of police rushed to the scene after shots rang out at around 10 a.m. Shortly afterwards the perpetrator was dead, having shot himself in a toilet, authorities said. The killings were the worst Austrian school shooting on record. The government declared three days of national mourning and political parties cancelled upcoming events. In the afternoon, people arrived to leave flowers and candles by the school. President Alexander Van der Bellen said it was hard to express what the country was feeling. "This horror cannot be put into words," he said. Long queues also formed outside a blood donation centre in Graz. "Today is a hard day for all of us in Graz. I'm here to (donate) my blood to help other people who need it," 25-year-old Stephanie Koenig told Reuters. Police cordoned off the school and few parents of pupils there have so far made their feelings public. The mother of one pupil told state broadcaster ORF that her son had called her during the shooting. "It's impossible to grasp," said the woman, who was not named by the broadcaster. "I was just happy that he was on the phone and that I could hear him. But now I keep thinking about how others are doing." "He just told me that he had to run out and that he'd hidden in the garden. Everything else is too much for me now, including everything else he said," she added. Nola, a 21-year-old student and local resident, told Reuters a friend of one of her friends was among the victims. "A friend of mine goes to that school. She found out that a friend of hers died," she said. "She called me immediately afterwards in tears and said 'Hannah is dead! Hannah is dead!' and her parents were also beside themselves."
Straits Times
4 days ago
- Straits Times
Austrians endure shock, horror after gunman kills 10 at school
GRAZ, Austria - Austrians were dumbfounded by grief and horror after a 21-year-old gunman killed 10 people in a high school shooting spree on Tuesday morning, unleashing a new kind of violence to the Alpine country unaccustomed to such slayings. Parents of pupils, top government officials and local residents in the southern city of Graz were lost for words after the young man, who has not been named, opened fire at the school where he had recently been a pupil. "Terrible. There's nothing else to make of it, is there?" said Monika Leiner, a 55-year-old IT consultant who lives near the school. "I'm a bit older, and I've seen quite a few things but I can't remember (a shooting with) so many deaths." Police have given no motive for the killings though Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung said officers found a farewell letter during a search of the suspect's home. Authorities said the man did not graduate from the school and Austrian media published unconfirmed reports he had suffered from bullying. Hundreds of police rushed to the scene after shots rang out at around 10 a.m. Shortly afterwards the perpetrator was dead, having shot himself in a toilet, authorities said. The killings were the worst Austrian school shooting on record. The government declared three days of national mourning and political parties cancelled upcoming events. In the afternoon, people arrived to leave flowers and candles by the school. President Alexander Van der Bellen said it was hard to express what the country was feeling. "This horror cannot be put into words," he said. Long queues also formed outside a blood donation centre in Graz. "Today is a hard day for all of us in Graz. I'm here to (donate) my blood to help other people who need it," 25-year-old Stephanie Koenig told Reuters. Police cordoned off the school and few parents of pupils there have so far made their feelings public. The mother of one pupil told state broadcaster ORF that her son had called her during the shooting. "It's impossible to grasp," said the woman, who was not named by the broadcaster. "I was just happy that he was on the phone and that I could hear him. But now I keep thinking about how others are doing." "He just told me that he had to run out and that he'd hidden in the garden. Everything else is too much for me now, including everything else he said," she added. Nola, a 21-year-old student and local resident, told Reuters a friend of one of her friends was among the victims. "A friend of mine goes to that school. She found out that a friend of hers died," she said. "She called me immediately afterwards in tears and said 'Hannah is dead! Hannah is dead!' and her parents were also beside themselves." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
