Former Student Kills Ten in Austrian School Shooting

A gunman killed 10 people, including teenagers, and injured at least 12 others in a mass shooting at a secondary school in Austria’s second-largest city of Graz on Tuesday in one of the worst rampages in the country’s history, Reuters reported.

The police have not publicly identified the shooter or the victims but local media reported that he was a 21-year-old former student who entered the BORG Dreierschützengasse school and started shooting at students in two classrooms, one of which had been his own, according to Al Jazeera.

The suspect used two weapons, a shotgun and a pistol, to carry out the killing spree before fatally shooting himself in a bathroom, authorities said, declining to provide a motive. However, the Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper said the shooter had been a victim of bullying.

The mass shooting shocked the country. “The rampage at a school in Graz is a national tragedy that has deeply shaken our entire country,” Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker said in a statement posted on X, announcing three days of mourning for the victims. “There are no words for the pain and grief.”

Julia Ebner, an extremism expert at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue think tank, said the attack was likely the worst school shooting in Austria’s post-war history, describing such shootings as rare compared with other countries, such as the United States.

Austrians are one of the most heavily armed civilian populations in Europe, with data showing 30 firearms per 100 residents, even as gun violence is uncommon.

But automatic weapons are banned, while revolvers, pistols, and semi-automatic weapons are allowed with official authorization. Rifles and shotguns are allowed with a firearm or a hunting license, or for members of traditional shooting clubs.

Officials believe the gunman legally owned the two weapons he used.