Gunman who killed 10 at old high school ‘felt he had been bullied’

Graz, Austria: As Austrian students returned to their classes after a long weekend, a man walked into his old high school and opened fire.

A short time later, at least 11 people were dead – including the gunman, his body found in a bathroom – and many others injured in what is being described as the worst school shooting in Austria’s modern history.

Local media said most of the victims were students, and the gunman – who reportedly left a farewell note – had thought of himself as a victim of bullying.

Austrians have been left horrified by the rampage at BORG Dreierschützengasse high school in the city of Graz in the country’s south-east mid-morning on Tuesday.

Such incidents are rare in Austria – a new kind of violence to the Alpine country unaccustomed to gun violence, even though it has one of the most heavily armed civilian populations in Europe.

Police believed the 21-year-old Austrian man was operating alone when he entered the school with two legally owned weapons – a long arm and a handgun – that The Washington Post reported were later recovered at the scene.

Police at the scene of the school shooting in Graz, Austria.Credit: AP

Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said six of those killed were female and three were male. Graz hospital later confirmed the death of a 10th person. Austrian media said most were pupils.

At least 11 people were injured, according to police. Graz University Hospital said in a statement that it was treating two patients in critical condition.

Authorities believe the shooter – who has not yet been named – killed himself in a bathroom. His motive remained unclear and was under investigation, police said.

The Kronen-Zeitung newspaper reported authorities had found a farewell note at his home, without detailing what it said.

The man had attended the school as a student but never graduated, Karner said.

The Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper said in an unconfirmed report that the suspect had opened fire on pupils in two classrooms, one of which had once been his own. It was also reported that he considered himself to have been a victim of bullying at the school.

“The rampage at a school in Graz is a national tragedy that has deeply shaken our entire country,” Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker said, calling it a “dark day in the history of our country”.

“There are no words for the pain and grief that we all – all of Austria – are feeling right now.”

A man lights candles at the entrance of the school after the shooting.Credit: AP

Police were called to the school – which caters for pupils aged 15 and above – about 10am on Tuesday. Austrian schools had been closed on Monday for a holiday, so students had just returned to classes after a long weekend.

The New York Times reported that police responded with heavy force, with more than 300 officers, specially trained COBRA units – Austria’s version of SWAT teams – and police helicopter. The school was evacuated in the late morning, with students sent to a nearby stadium.

Ambulances also arrived within minutes as the premises were cordoned off.

In Graz, which has a population of about 300,000, Stocker announced three days of national mourning, while a minute’s silence was set for Wednesday.

People light candles on the main square in Graz’s city centre after the deadly school shooting.Credit: AP

Parents of pupils, top government officials and residents in Graz were lost for words.

“Terrible. There’s nothing else to make of it, is there?” said Monika Leiner, a 55-year-old IT consultant who lives near the school. “I’m a bit older, and I’ve seen quite a few things, but I can’t remember [a shooting with] so many deaths.“

The mother of one pupil told state broadcaster ORF that her son had called her during the shooting.

“It’s impossible to grasp,” said the woman, who was not named by the broadcaster. “I was just happy that he was on the phone and that I could hear him. But now I keep thinking about how others are doing.

The 21-year-old Austrian shooter, who was found dead in a bathroom, he entered the school with two guns and opened fire, police believe.Credit: AP

“He just told me that he had to run out and that he’d hidden in the garden. Everything else is too much for me now, including everything else he said.”

Nola, a 21-year-old student and resident, told Reuters that a friend of a friend was among the victims.

“A friend of mine goes to that school. She found out that a friend of hers died,” she said. “She called me immediately afterwards in tears and said ‘Hannah is dead! Hannah is dead!’ and her parents were also beside themselves.”

Julia Ebner, an extremism expert at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue think tank, said the incident appeared to be the worst school shooting in Austria’s post-war history.

Foreign leaders including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed shock.

Long queues also formed outside a blood donation centre in Graz.

“Today is a hard day for all of us in Graz. I’m here to [donate] my blood to help other people who need it,” 25-year-old Stephanie Koenig told Reuters.

Austria has one of the most heavily armed civilian populations in Europe, with an estimated 30 firearms per 100 people, according to the Small Arms Survey, an independent research project.

The Washington Post reported the country’s most recent mass shooting was in 2020, when a man in Vienna killed four people before being fatally shot by police. The Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for that attack.

In November 1997, a 36-year-old mechanic shot dead six people in the town of Mauterndorf before taking his own life.

Graz also experienced a deadly attack in 2015, when a man drove a car into the crowd in the centre of the city, killing three people and injuring dozens.

Reuters, AP

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