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Associated Press
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Here's what we know about a school shooting in Austria
GRAZ, Austria (AP) — A shooter opened fire inside a school in Austria's second-biggest city Tuesday, killing nine people, authorities said. At least 12 others were wounded in the attack, and the gunman later died by suicide in a bathroom in the school in Graz, officials said. Details about the suspect's motive, as well as information about the victims, were not immediately available. Here's what we know: Nine people were killed The shooter opened fire at a school in Graz, killing nine people and wounding at least 12 others before taking his own life, authorities said. Special forces were among those sent to the BORG Dreierschützengasse high school, about a kilometer (over half a mile) from Graz's historic center, after a call at 10 a.m. At 11:30 a.m., police wrote on social network X that the school had been evacuated and everyone had been taken to a safe meeting point. Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker said there would be three days of national mourning, with the Austrian flag lowered to half-staff and a national minute of mourning at 10 a.m. Wednesday. 'A school is more than just a place of learning,' Stocker said. 'It is a space of trust, of security, of the future. The fact that this safe space was shattered by such an act of violence leaves us speechless.' Graz, Austria's second-biggest city, is located in the southeast of the country and has about 300,000 inhabitants. Gunman was a former student The gunman was a former student at the school who didn't finish his studies, Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said. His name has not been made public in line with Austrian privacy rules. Authorities say he was a 21-year-old Austrian man who had two weapons, which he appeared to have owned legally. Police said they didn't immediately have information on the man's motive, but said he died by suicide in a toilet after the attack. Other major attacks in AustriaTuesday's violence appeared to be the deadliest attack in Austria's postwar history. Other attacks in the country include when four people were killed in Vienna in 2020 and the suspect, a sympathizer of the Islamic State group, also died in a shooting that stunned the Austrian capital. More than 20 other people, including a police officer, were wounded. In 2019, a 25-year-old man turned himself in to Austrian police after he killed his ex-girlfriend, her family and her new boyfriend in the Alpine resort town of Kitzbuehel. And almost exactly 10 years ago, on June 20, 2015, a man killed three people and injured more than 30 when he drove through a crowd in downtown Graz with an SUV. Gun culture in Austria Austria has some of the more liberal gun laws in the European Union. Traditionally, many in the Alpine country go hunting and it's more common to carry a weapon for that and less for self-defense. 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's no weapons ban on the buyer, and the weapon is then 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.
The Independent
10-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Here's what we know about a school shooting in Austria
A shooter opened fire inside a school in Austria's second-biggest city Tuesday, killing nine people, authorities said. At least 12 others were wounded in the attack, and the gunman later died by suicide in a bathroom in the school in Graz, officials said. Details about the suspect's motive, as well as information about the victims, were not immediately available. Here's what we know: Nine people were killed The shooter opened fire at a school in Graz, killing nine people and wounding at least 12 others before taking his own life, authorities said. Special forces were among those sent to the BORG Dreierschützengasse high school, about a kilometer (over half a mile) from Graz's historic center, after a call at 10 a.m. At 11:30 a.m., police wrote on social network X that the school had been evacuated and everyone had been taken to a safe meeting point. Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker said there would be three days of national mourning, with the Austrian flag lowered to half-staff and a national minute of mourning at 10 a.m. Wednesday. 'A school is more than just a place of learning," Stocker said. 'It is a space of trust, of security, of the future. The fact that this safe space was shattered by such an act of violence leaves us speechless.' Graz, Austria's second-biggest city, is located in the southeast of the country and has about 300,000 inhabitants. Gunman was a former student The gunman was a former student at the school who didn't finish his studies, Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said. His name has not been made public in line with Austrian privacy rules. Authorities say he was a 21-year-old Austrian man who had two weapons, which he appeared to have owned legally. Police said they didn't immediately have information on the man's motive, but said he died by suicide in a toilet after the attack. Other major attacks in Austria Tuesday's violence appeared to be the deadliest attack in Austria's postwar history. Other attacks in the country include when four people were killed in Vienna in 2020 and the suspect, a sympathizer of the Islamic State group, also died in a shooting that stunned the Austrian capital. More than 20 other people, including a police officer, were wounded. In 2019, a 25-year-old man turned himself in to Austrian police after he killed his ex-girlfriend, her family and her new boyfriend in the Alpine resort town of Kitzbuehel. And almost exactly 10 years ago, on June 20, 2015, a man killed three people and injured more than 30 when he drove through a crowd in downtown Graz with an SUV. Gun culture in Austria Austria has some of the more liberal gun laws in the European Union. Traditionally, many in the Alpine country go hunting and it's more common to carry a weapon for that and less for self-defense. 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's no weapons ban on the buyer, and the weapon is then 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.
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.
Al Jazeera
10-06-2025
- Al Jazeera
Photos: Ten dead, including suspect, in Austria school shooting
An attacker shot at least nine people dead, before killing themselves, at a school in the southeastern Austrian city of Graz, according to local authorities cited by media reports. Police said on Tuesday that they believed the assailant acted alone before turning the gun on themself. 'Several' other people were seriously wounded, according to the authorities. Graz Mayor Elke Kahr described the incident as a 'terrible tragedy', the Austria Press Agency reported. It added that those killed included students and at least one adult. Officials did not immediately give information on the perpetrator. Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker, who was on his way to Graz, said the shooting 'is a national tragedy that deeply shocks our whole country'. Some weapons, such as rifles and shotguns that must be reloaded manually after each shot, can be bought in Austria after attaining the age of 18 without a permit. Gun dealers only need to check if there is no weapons ban on the buyer, and the weapon gets registered in 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.
The Independent
10-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
A school shooting in the Austrian city of Graz leaves at least 8 people and suspected gunman dead
At least eight people were killed in a shooting at a school in the Austrian city of Graz on Tuesday, and the suspected perpetrator also died, the city's mayor said. Mayor Elke Kahr described the events as a 'terrible tragedy,' the Austria Press Agency reported. It added that the fatalities were seven students and one adult. Kahr said that many people were taken to hospitals with injuries. Police said they believe the assailant acted alone. Special forces were among those sent to the BORG Dreierschützengasse high school, about a kilometer (over half a mile) from Graz's historic center, after a call at 10 a.m. At 11.30 a.m., police wrote on social network X that the school had been evacuated and everyone had been taken to a safe meeting point. They wrote that the situation was 'secured' and there is no longer believed to be any danger. Police deployed in large numbers, with police and other emergency vehicles guarding the area around the school and with at least one police helicopter flying above the area, according to photos published by the regional newspaper Kleine Zeitung. Graz, Austria's second-biggest city, is located in the southeast of the country and has about 300,000 inhabitants. Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker said the shooting 'is a national tragedy that deeply shocks our whole country.' 'There are no words for the pain and grief that all of us — the whole of Austria — feel now,' he wrote in a statement posted on X. President Alexander Van der Bellen said that '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,' he said. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner was on his way to Graz. ' Schools are symbols for youth, hope and the future,' European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X. 'It is hard to bear when schools become places of death and violence.'
