A former student killed 10 people when he opened fire in a high school in southeastern Austria on Tuesday before taking their lives, authorities said, in an unprecedented case of mortal armed violence that surprised the alpine country.
The strongly armed police, a helicopter and paramedics descended at Dreierschuetzangasse high school in Graz after the solitary 21 -year -old shooter hit, police said.
Nine victims were immediately confirmed, but a woman died of her wounds in the hospital later, an official said.
Seven of the victims were women and three men, authorities said without specifying their ages. A 17 -year -old French student was among the victims, his father told him AFP.
Twelve people suffered serious injuries, and the Police said that the affected witnesses were being provided.
The suspect acted alone and took his life in the school’s bathroom, the police said, added that his motive was still unknown.
Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker declared three days of national mourning to remember the victims, saying that the country had witnessed “an act of unimaginable violence.”
According to the police, the alleged author was an Austrian from the Graz region, who used two legal weapons.
He was a former student at high school, but he had not finished his studies, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner told reporters.
‘Unheard of’
Bouquets of flowers and candles were placed in front of the school, which has around 400 students between 14 and 18 years old, since nearby companies closed.
A resident, originally from the United States, whose children attend a nearby primary school and a kindergarten, he said AFP I was “surprised” and it was “a lot to assimilate.”
“In my country of origin, it happens more frequently, as we know, but what happens here is unheard of,” he said, declining to give his name.
“Graz is a safe city,” said Roman Klug, 55, who said he lived near school that said he was “known for his openness and diversity.”
‘Deeply surprised’
After arriving in Graz, Stocker described the shooting as “a national tragedy,” and added that it was “a dark day” for Austria.
The condolences arrived from all over Europe.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said that “France extends his deepest sympathy towards the families of the victims, the Austrian people and the winner of the Foreign Minister during this difficult time.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that “our thoughts are with our Austrian friends and neighbors” after the “horrible” shooting.
Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orban, offered his “deepest condolences.”
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that “the news of Graz touches my heart”, while Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed his sympathy to the families of the victims after the “tragic news.”
The attacks in public are rare in Austria, which houses almost 9.2 million people and is among the 10 safest countries in the world, according to the global peace index.
Although it is even less common than in the United States, Europe in recent years has been shaken by attacks in schools and universities that were not connected to terrorism.
In France today, a teaching assistant was killed in a knife attack in a school in the eastern city of Nogent.
In January, an 18 -year -old man fatally stabbed a high school student and a teacher in a school in the northeast of Slovakia.
And in December, a 19 -year -old man stabbed a seven -year -old student and wounded several others in a primary school in Zagreb, Croatia.
In December 2023, an attack by a student at a university in the center of Prague left 14 people dead and 25 wounds.
A few months before, a 13 -year -old boy murdered nine classmates and a security guard in a primary school in Belgrade.
