VIENNA: Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker on Tuesday declared three days of national mourning after a school shooting in the southeastern city of Graz reportedly by a former student left nine people dead and several seriously injured. "During three days of national mourning, all of Austria" will remember the victims, Stocker told a press conference in Graz. "This is a dark day," he said, standing alongside Interior Minister Gerhard Karner, adding that the Alpine country had seen "an act of unimaginable violence".
An attack on a school in southeastern Austria by a former student has left nine people dead, authorities said, in a rare case of deadly gun violence in the Alpine country. Heavily armed police, a helicopter and paramedics descended upon the school in Graz, where 10 people including the alleged lone shooter were killed, regional police said.
Six of the victims were female and three male, authorities later confirmed without specifying their ages. Twelve people suffered severe injuries. Police said the situation was "secure" and support was being provided to witnesses and those affected.
The suspect acted alone and took his own life in the school toilet, police said, adding his motive remained unknown. According to the police, the alleged perpetrator is a 21-year-old Austrian from the wider Graz region. The perpetrator used two weapons he had owned legally to carry out the attack.
The suspected shooter was a former student at the school, but had not finished his studies, Interior Minister Gerhard Karnert told reporters. "It's a disaster, simply terrible. After all, it's about children," Hasan Darsel, a restaurant owner in the area, told the newspaper Kronen Zeitung.
The European Union's top diplomat Kaja Kallas said she was "deeply shocked" when she heard about the shooting. "Every child should feel safe at school and be able to learn free from fear and violence," Kallas posted on X. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said "our thoughts are with our Austrian friends and neighbours and we mourn with them" after the school shooting he called "horrific". Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban offered his "deepest condolences to Chancellor @_CStocker and the people of Austria" via social media. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said "the news from Graz touches my heart" while Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her sympathies to the families of the victims following the "tragic news".
Attacks in public are rare in Austria, which is home to almost 9.2 million people and ranks among the 10 safest countries in the world, according to the Global Peace Index. School shootings are also much more uncommon in Europe than in the United States but in recent years Europe has been shaken by attacks at schools and universities, that were not connected to terrorism. — AFP
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