Austria school shooting: Gunman who killed nine in Graz was former student, police say

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Austria school shooting: Gunman who killed nine in Graz was former student, police say

A former student opened fire at a high school in the Austrian city of Graz, authorities said Tuesday, killing nine people in one of the worst rampages in the country’s history.

The country’s interior ministry told ITV News' US partner CNN that the victims included children between 14 and 18 years old. At least 12 others were wounded, some of them seriously.

The suspect, who police believe acted alone, is also dead, and the school has been secured, authorities added.

Authorities say the assailant 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 that he killed himself in a toilet after fatally shooting nine people.

The shooting happened in Graz, Austria's second-largest city.

Graz's Mayor Elke Kahr described the shooting at the Bundesoberstufenrealgymnasium Dreierschützengasse school in the northwest of the city as a “terrible tragedy,” the Austria Press Agency reported.

Officers were deployed to the school on Tuesday after reports of shots being fired at 10am local time, a police spokesperson said.

Special forces were among the authorities sent to the school, with police working to establish what happened.

Sabri Yorgun, a policeman at the scene, told reporters that "multiple shots" were heard.

He confirmed that the area had been secured and that there were no other threats.

Graz is Austria’s second-biggest city and has a population of about 300,000 people.

Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker, who is travelling to the city following the incident, 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.

The Interior Minister Gerhard Karner is also travelling to the city.

President Alexander Van der Bellen 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."

In Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X: “Schools are symbols for youth, hope and the future.

“It is hard to bear when schools become places of death and violence.”

In Austria, ownership of a weapons license allows a person to purchase and own firearms. As well as carry them if they fall into category B.

Category B firearms are handguns, repeating shotguns and semi-automatic firearms that are not considered 'war material' or prohibited.

To gain a weapons license a person is required to be:

- At least 21 years old

- A citizen of the EEA (European Economic Area)

- Be able to prove why you need to carry a Category B firearm

- A psychological report confirming the applicant will not handle the weapon carelessly.

- Proof of proper handling of firearms