A tragic school shooting in Graz, Austria’s second-largest city, has left 11 people dead, including the gunman, and several others injured.
Gatekeepers News reports that the attack occurred at a secondary school in the Dreierschützengasse area, near the main station, on Tuesday morning when students were taking classes and some were preparing for their final exams.
The gunman, a 21-year-old Austrian citizen and former student of the school, was armed with two firearms and took his own life at the scene. According to reports, he had seen himself as a victim of bullying and never passed his final exams. Police responded to the situation but took 17 minutes to bring it under control. By the time the situation was resolved, six female and three male students had died, and a seventh female victim, an adult woman, later succumbed to her injuries in the hospital.
The city is in shock, with residents struggling to understand how such a tragedy could occur in a normally peaceful area. “We never could have imagined that this could have happened here, in our place. It’s a sad day for the whole city,” said Reka, a local resident.
Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen expressed his condolences, saying, “This horror cannot be put into words. What happened today in a school in Graz hits our country right in the heart.” Chancellor Christian Stocker described the incident as “a national tragedy that has shaken the entire country”.
Three days of mourning have been declared in Austria, with flags flying at half-mast at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna. Authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding the attack.
Austria has a high rate of gun ownership, with an estimated 30 firearms per 100 people, according to the Small Arms Survey. This has raised concerns about gun control and public safety.
