Graz, Austria, June 11: Eleven people, including the suspected shooter, were killed in a mass shooting at a secondary school in the Austrian city of Graz on Tuesday, in what authorities have described as the country’s deadliest school shooting in modern history.
The attack unfolded shortly after 10 a.m. local time at the Dreierschützengasse school, located near the main railway station in Austria’s second-largest city. The gunman, a 21-year-old former student, opened fire in two classrooms, killing nine people on site. A tenth victim, a woman, died later in hospital. Several others remain hospitalized, with some in critical condition.
Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said the suspect, who took his own life at the scene, was armed with two legally owned firearms, one of which had been purchased just a day earlier. The shooter, an Austrian citizen with no criminal record, had not graduated and was reportedly troubled by past experiences of bullying at the school.
“This is a national tragedy that has shaken the entire country,” said Chancellor Christian Stocker, who traveled to Graz with Karner following the attack. “There are no words for the pain and grief that we all – the whole of Austria – are feeling.”
Police responded within minutes and secured the site within 17 minutes of the first emergency call. The area was cordoned off and public transport diverted as armed officers swept through the surrounding neighborhood.
President Alexander Van der Bellen called the shooting “horror that cannot be put into words,” adding, “These were young people who had their whole lives ahead of them. Nothing can ease the pain felt by their families.” Austria has declared three days of national mourning, and flags at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna were lowered to half-mast.
Mass shootings are rare in Austria, though the country has one of the highest civilian gun ownership rates in Europe, with an estimated 30 firearms per 100 residents, according to the Small Arms Survey. Stringent regulations ban machine guns and pump-action firearms, while pistols, revolvers, and semi-automatic weapons require authorization.
Tuesday’s tragedy stunned residents of Graz, a city of around 300,000. “This area is quiet, safe and beautiful,” said Reka, who lives near the school. “We never could have imagined something like this.” The motive behind the shooting remains under investigation.
