Mass Shooting at Austrian High School Leaves at Least 11 Dead

Chancellor Nehammer: "Deep Shock... A National Tragedy"

On the 10th (local time), a shooting occurred at a high school in Graz, Austria's second largest city, resulting in the deaths of at least 11 people, including the suspect, according to reports by the BBC and other media outlets.

On the 10th (local time), a shooting occurred at a school in Graz, Austria, and police are patrolling around the school. Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

The Austrian Ministry of the Interior announced that the shooting took place at a high school in Graz around 10 a.m., leaving 10 people dead and 12 injured. Later, Austria's public broadcaster ORF reported that one of the injured died in the hospital, bringing the death toll to 11.

Police stated that the suspect took his own life in a restroom inside the school. Minister Karner explained that the suspect was a 21-year-old male who had attended the school but did not graduate. He added that the suspect used a handgun and a shotgun in the crime, and that both firearms were legally owned.

Police received a report of gunshots at a high school about 1 kilometer from Graz's historic district around 10 a.m. that day, and immediately dispatched special forces and ambulances to the scene. At around 11:30 a.m., police announced on X (formerly Twitter) that "the scene has been secured and everyone has been safely evacuated."

Graz, with a population of 300,000, is a city in southeastern Austria. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer stated, "The mass shooting at a school in Graz is a national tragedy that has deeply shocked our entire country," and added, "Words cannot express the pain and sorrow felt by all of Austria right now."

Chancellor Nehammer declared a three-day national mourning period. At 10 a.m. on the 11th, the day after the tragedy, a nationwide minute of silence will be observed.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X, "Schools are symbols of youth, hope, and the future," and added, "It is truly unbearable when a school becomes a place of death and violence."

According to the BBC, as of 2017, Austria had about 30 firearms per 100 people, making it the country with the 14th highest rate of gun ownership in the world. Austria has experienced several gun-related incidents in the past. In 2020, a gunman motivated by Islamic extremism opened fire in central Vienna, killing four people and injuring 22. In November 1997, a 36-year-old mechanic killed six people in Mauterndorf before taking his own life.