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The Independent
16-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Austria's chancellor vows to toughen gun laws after a deadly school shooting
Austria will toughen its gun laws, its chancellor said Monday, after a 21-year-old former student killed nine students and a teacher at his school last week in what's considered the Alpine country's deadliest post-war attack. The shooting had sparked a debate about Austria's gun laws, which are among the more liberal in the European Union. The assailant in Graz used a shotgun and a pistol which he owned legally, police said shortly after the attack. 'Access to weapons must be regulated even more responsibly in Austria,' Christian Stocker said during a speech in Parliament in Vienna. The new laws will include 'stricter eligibility requirements for gun ownership and restrictions for certain risk groups,' the chancellor said, adding that data-sharing between the different authorities would be improved as well. 'In the future, wherever an individual risk situation is identified, consequences under firearms law must be drawn automatically,' Stocker said. The chancellor said his Cabinet would pass the new measures later this week but didn't give any further details. However, on Saturday, Stocker told public broadcaster ORF that toughening the laws could include raising the minimum age for gun buyers. In the school shooting Tuesday at the BORG Dreierschützengasse high school in Graz, nine students were killed — six girls and three boys aged between 14 and 17 — as well as a teacher. Another 11 people were wounded. The attacker killed himself in a bathroom of his former school. Traditionally, many in Austria hold weapons, which they often use to go hunting in the Alpine country's vast forests. In general, it's more common to carry a weapon for that and less for self-defense. According to the Small Arms Survey, Austria ranks 12th in the world when it comes to holding civilian firearms, with 30 firearms per 100 residents. That's far less than in the U.S. which tops the ranking with 120 firearms per 100 residents, but more than Austria's neighbor Germany, which ranked 23rd with 19 firearms per 100 residents. In Austria, some weapons, such as rifles and shotguns that must be reloaded manually after each shot, can be purchased from the age of 18 without a permit. Gun dealers only need to check if there's no weapons ban on the buyer, and the weapon is added to the central weapons register. Other weapons, such as repeating shotguns or semi-automatic firearms, are more difficult to acquire. Buyers need a gun ownership card and a firearms pass. Austria Press Agency has reported that the suspect had a gun ownership card, but this document merely entitles a holder to acquire and possess, but not to carry weapons such as the handgun. That weapon also would have required a firearm pass. In his speech on Monday, the chancellor also announced that all schools in the country would get more long-term psychological support for students and that police would increase their presence in front of schools until the end of the school year this summer. In addition, Stocker said, the government will create a compensation fund 'that will make it possible to help the affected families quickly and unbureaucratically — for example with funeral costs, psychological care or other urgently needed support services.'
News24
10-06-2025
- News24
‘Former pupil' kills nine people at Austrian school
A tragic school shooting occurred in Graz, Austria, leaving 10 dead, including students, an adult, and the lone shooter, whose motive remains unknown. Austria's leadership and European figures expressed condolences as the nation grapples with this rare act of violence in one of the world's safest countries. School violence cases are infrequent in Europe but have been on the rise, with similar recent attacks in Slovakia, Croatia, and Serbia stirring concerns. An attack on a school in southeastern Austria reportedly by a former pupil has left several people dead, police said Tuesday, in a rare case of deadly gun violence in a European school. Heavily armed police, a helicopter and paramedics descended upon the school in Graz, where 10 people including the alleged lone shooter were killed and "several severely injured", regional police said on X. "The identities of those affected are currently being established," police said, adding the situation as "secure" and support was being provided to witnesses and those affected. Graz Mayor Elke Kahr told Austrian press agency APA that 10 people including several pupils and one adult were killed. The alleged shooter acted alone, police said, and his motive is unknown. Austrian media reported the suspect is believed to be a 22-year-old former pupil who also took his own life. Police and interior ministry officials could not immediately be reached by AFP. "The situation is very unclear at the moment," police sources told Austria's APA news agency. Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker and Interior Minister Gerhard Karner are expected to hold a press conference at 13:00. "It's a disaster, simply terrible. After all, it's about children," Hasan Darsel, a restaurant owner in the area, told the newspaper Kronen Zeitung. 'Deeply shocked' Condolences poured in from across Europe. EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas declared herself "deeply shocked" Tuesday by reports of the shooting. "Every child should feel safe at school and be able to learn free from fear and violence," Kallas posted on X. "My thoughts are with the victims, their families and the Austrian people in this dark moment." European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said "the news from Graz touches my heart." Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her sympathies to the families of the victims following the "tragic news". Attacks in public are rare in Austria, an Alpine nation of almost 9.2 million people, which ranks among the 10 safest countries in the world, according to the Global Peace Index. School shootings are also much more uncommon in Europe than in the United States but in recent years Europe has been shaken by attacks at schools and universities, that were not connected to terrorism. In France on Tuesday, a teaching assistant was killed at a school in Nogent in the east following a knife attack. In January 2025, an 18-year-old man fatally stabbed a high school student and a teacher at a school in northeastern Slovakia. In December 2024, a 19-year-old man stabbed a seven-year-old student to death and injured several others at a primary school in Zagreb, Croatia. In December 2023, an attack by a student at a university in central Prague left 14 people dead and 25 injured. A few months earlier that year, a 13-year-old gunned down eight fellow classmates and a security guard at an elementary school in downtown Belgrade. Six children and a teacher were also injured. The shooter contacted the police, who arrested him. In 2009, nine pupils, three teachers and three passers-by were killed in a school shooting at Winnenden in southern Germany by a former pupil who then killed himself.
The Independent
10-06-2025
- The Independent
Reports of eight dead in Austrian school shooting
A school shooting in Graz, Austria, has resulted in at least eight fatalities, according to reports. The incident occurred at the BORG university school, prompting a large police response and evacuation of the school. The shooter reportedly killed himself after opening fire in two classrooms; it is unconfirmed if this death is included in the total victim count. Police have secured the scene, stating that there is no further danger, and students have been moved to a safe meeting point. The shooting occurred shortly before the tenth anniversary of the 2015 Graz shooting, which killed three people.
Telegraph
10-06-2025
- Telegraph
Live ‘Ten killed' in Austria school shooting
At least ten people are believed to have been killed in a school shooting in the southern Austrian city of Graz. Austria's interior ministry confirmed there have been several fatalities at the secondary school in Dreierschützengasse, including the suspect. Local media has reported that the suspected shooter was a student at the school. Police have not yet confirmed the exact number of casualties, however local media is reporting at least ten people were killed, including students and teachers. More than 10 people are said to be seriously injured. A major police operation has been underway inside the school since gunshots were heard in the classrooms at 10am local time (9am BST) on Tuesday morning. Footage showed dozens of police cars and ambulances racing to the scene. The public has been asked to avoid the area. Gerhard Karner, the Austrian interior minister, is en route to the scene of the attack. The alleged perpetrator is believed to have killed himself, police said.
