Latest news with #Österreich
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
'A national tragedy': nine people killed by gunman in Austria school shooting
Austria's chancellor, Christian Stocker, announced three days of national mourning after nine people were killed by a former student at a school in the southwestern city of Graz. Austrian police said the perpetrator was a 21-year-old man who entered the school armed with two weapons he is believed to have owned legally. The gunman reportedly killed himself at the scene
Washington Post
2 hours ago
- Washington Post
Here's what we know about a school shooting in Austria
GRAZ, 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.
Associated Press
3 hours ago
- 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
3 hours ago
- 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.
Telegraph
3 hours ago
- Telegraph
School dropout shoots dead nine in Austria
At least nine people were shot dead at a secondary school by a former pupil in the Austrian city of Graz. Several students and at least one adult were among those killed in the country's worst school shooting in living memory. The suspect was a 21-year-old man who had attended the school but not graduated. He shot himself in the school toilets after his attack. Austria's chancellor said the shooting at BORG Dreierschützengasse high school marks a 'dark day in the history of the country'. The victims included six females and four males, police said, without revealing their identities. A dozen more people were injured, including several seriously. Local media reports suggested the suspect was a victim of bullying when he attended the school. Gerhard Karner, the interior minister, said investigations are ongoing into the background of the suspect, but did not comment on his identity or motives. He used two guns, a shotgun and a handgun – both obtained legally – in the attack. At around 10am local time (9am BST), rounds of loud gunshots followed by screams were heard coming from the school, and the alarm began sounding. Dozens of police cars and ambulances were filmed racing to the scene, which is half a mile from Graz's historic centre, as a police helicopter circled above. Officers, supported by Austria's elite 'Cobra' unit, then combed through the school, evacuating the wounded and the students and teachers who had barricaded themselves in classrooms. Around midday, police announced that the school had been secured and the danger was over. The wounded were taken to several hospitals in the area, and a mass casualty event was declared. 'This is a national tragedy that has hit us deeply,' Christian Stocker, the Austrian chancellor, said in the wake of the events. Declaring three days of national mourning, he said that schools 'must remain places of peace'. Alexander Van der Bellen, Austria's president, said: '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.' Mark Nolden, 22, a student who lives near the school and knows some of the students, described the shooting as a 'huge shock' for the community. He told Kronen Zeitung, Austria's biggest newspaper: 'It's a situation like something out of a movie, above all the uncertainty.' Local media, citing unconfirmed witness reports, said the suspect was carrying two weapons, a pistol and a shotgun and that he was found dead inside the school toilets. The Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper reported that he had purchased one of the guns just days ago. Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, said: 'Schools are symbols of youth, hope and the future. It is difficult to bear when schools become places of death and violence.' Prime Minister Keir Starmer's 'thoughts are with everyone affected and the people of Austria', his official spokesman said. Despite Austria having one of the heavily armed civilian populations in Europe – with an estimated 30 firearms per 100 persons – school shootings are uncommon. Austria only had two mass shootings between 2000 and 2022. Machine guns and pump-action guns are banned, while shotguns, revolvers, pistols and semi-automatic weapons are allowed with official authorisation or a firearms licence. Four people were killed and 22 injured when a convicted jihadist went on a shooting spree in the centre of Vienna in 2020. The school shooting in Graz happened almost 10 years to the day that the city was rocked by a driver who deliberately rammed his car into the city centre before stabbing residents. The attacker, Alen Rizvanović, a Bosnian refugee, killed three people and injured more than 30.
