At Least 10 Dead After School Shooting in Austria, Police Say

At least 10 people are dead following a mass shooting at the BORG Dreierschützengasse high school in Graz, Austria, according to state police.

Among the dead were eight students, one adult, and the suspected gunman in the deadliest mass shooting in Austria’s postwar history. Twelve others were injured.

Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker called the shooting a national tragedy and a “dark day in [the] history of our country” in a press briefing Tuesday.

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Police said the gunman, believed to be 21 years old, is thought to have acted alone. The identities of the victims have not yet been released.

Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner confirmed that the suspect was a former student at the school who did not graduate. Authorities also said the firearms used in the attack were legally obtained and owned.

Read more: Why Austria Has Some of the Most Relaxed Gun Ownership Laws in Europe

The suspected gunman reportedly carried a pistol and a shotgun, opening fire in two classrooms before taking his own life in a bathroom at the school.

Special forces were among those sent to the school after police received a phone call at 10 a.m. local time in Austria’s second largest city.

Police said that students from the high school would be taken to the local ASKÖ Stadium, where they can then be picked up by parents and relatives.

The government has declared a three-day period of national mourning. A nationwide minute of silence is scheduled for 10 a.m. local time Wednesday.

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Tuesday’s incident is the first significant mass shooting in Austria since November 2020, when a 20-year-old gunman killed four people and injured 23 others. Islamic State later claimed responsibility for the attack.