The suspected gunman, believed to be a former student, turned the weapon on himself after the attack
At least ten people have been killed in a shooting at a school in the Austrian city of Graz, according to local authorities. The incident occurred around 10am local time at BORG Dreierschutzengasse, a secondary school in the Lend district.
Police confirmed that shots were fired inside the building, prompting a major response involving multiple units, including Cobra special forces and police helicopters.
Graz Mayor Elke Kahr later confirmed ten people have been killed in the attack: one adult and nine students, including the suspected gunman. Media reports state that about 30 more people, both students and teachers, were injured in the shooting and taken to hospitals in Graz, with at least two in critical condition.
According to police, the shooter was a 21-year-old Austrian citizen from the Graz-Umgebung district. His name has not been released. He used two legally owned firearms in the attack before shooting himself in a restroom. Authorities said he had no prior police record.
Exklusives Video:????Hier hört man die Schüsse in der Grazer Schule
Schockierend! AUF1 hat soeben ein exklusives Video erhalten, in dem die Schüsse in der Grazer Schule zu hören sind. Das Video wurde in einem Klassenzimmer des BORG gefilmt.
While the motive behind the shooting is still unclear, media reports suggest the gunman is a former student who may have been a victim of bullying. The State Criminal Police Office has launched an investigation.
Video! Unvorstellbar:????So verlief die Evakuierung der Grazer Schüler
Dramatische Szenen: Unter dem Schutz schwer bewaffneter Polizeikräfte wurden die Schüler aus ihren Klassenzimmern und der Schule evakuiert. Die Polizei hat inzwischen Entwarnung gegeben. Eltern dürfen nun zu… pic.twitter.com/35BufAkdTT
In a post on X, police said they had successfully evacuated all students and teachers from the building.
”The situation is secure. No further danger is expected,” read the message.
Graz:????Zahl der Toten steigt auf 11
Wie die 16-jährige Schülerin AUF1 exklusiv mitteilte, ist die Zahl der Toten auf elf gestiegen, so ein Rettungssanitäter gegenüber dem Mädchen. Schwerverletzte werden per Rettungshubschrauber in umliegende Krankenhäuser gebracht. Laut Polizei… pic.twitter.com/n2vGn8cLAb
Graz is the capital of the Austrian federal state of Styria and the second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. The shooting coincided with the Matura exams, Austria’s equivalent of final secondary school examinations.
The Austrian government plans to declare three days of national mourning after the shooting, considered the deadliest in the country’s modern-day history. Flags outside the Hofburg Palace in Vienna have already been lowered to half-mast, according to media reports.
Mayor Kahr called the incident a “terrible tragedy.” Vienna Mayor Michael Ludwig said he was “shocked” by the news from Graz.
”It is precisely in moments like these that we must stand together as a society. Hatred and violence must never prevail,” he stated on X. Chancellor Christian Stocker called the attack a “dark day in the history of our country” and a “national tragedy that shakes us deeply.” Multiple Austrian and European officials have offered condolences.
