Austria school shooting: Ten people, including students, killed in 'terrible tragedy' in Graz
The shooting took place just before 10am local time at a high school in Graz - Austria's second-biggest city.
Nine people have been killed in a shooting at a school in the Austrian city of Graz, with the suspected perpetrator also dead, authorities said.
Police said they believed the assailant acted alone, adding ten people were dead in total, including the shooter, while “several” others were seriously injured.
Graz mayor Elke Kahr described the events as a “terrible tragedy”, the Austria Press Agency reported. The agency said the fatalities included students and at least one adult. Ms Kahr said many people were taken to hospital with injuries.
Officials did not immediately give information on the perpetrator. Police said they believe the assailant acted alone.
When did the shooting take place?
Special forces were among those sent to the BORG Dreierschutzengasse high school after a call at 10am local time (9am BST).
At 11.30am local time (10.30am BST), police wrote on social network X the school had been evacuated and everyone had been taken to a safe meeting point.
They wrote the situation was “secured” and there is no longer believed to be any danger.
Police deployed in large numbers, with police and other emergency vehicles guarding the area around the school and with at least one police helicopter flying above the area, according to photos published by the regional newspaper Kleine Zeitung.
The response to the shooting
Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker, who was on his way to Graz, described the shooting as “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.
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,” he said.
“Schools are symbols for youth, hope and the future,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X. “It is hard to bear when schools become places of death and violence.”
Graz - the scene of the shooting
Graz, Austria’s second-biggest city, is located in the south-east of the country and has about 300,000 inhabitants.
In Brussels, European Union spokesperson Paula Pinho said: “We would like to offer our deepest condolences to the families of the victims and the entire city of Graz in Austria. And we stand together in mourning while we seek clarity in the wake of this horrible event in a school.”
Gun regulations in Austria
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 is no weapons ban on the buyer and the weapon gets registered in 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.