Nine people killed in shooting at Austrian school

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 believe the assailant acted alone, adding that 10 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.

It added that the fatalities included students and at least one adult. Ms Kahr said that 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.

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 that the school had been evacuated and everyone had been taken to a safe meeting point.

They wrote that 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.

Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker, who was on his way to Graz, said the shooting “is 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 that “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, 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.”

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.

Published: 10/06/2025 by Radio NewsHubClick here to read this story in full at Radio News Hub