An armed attacker shot dead at least nine people at a school in Graz, Austria. The dead included several students and at least one adult, Graz Mayor Elke Kahr told the Austrian news agency APA. The suspected perpetrator is also dead. Several people were reportedly injured in the attack on Tuesday morning.
According to the television station ORF, the attacker was a former high school student. He apparently took his own life after his attack, police spokesman Fritz Grundnig told ORF.
According to initial findings, the perpetrator acted alone, APA quoted police as saying. His motive is still unclear. The school was evacuated, and the students were taken to a nearby hall and cared for by a crisis intervention team. The area was temporarily cordoned off, and numerous ambulances were deployed. By midday, the situation was deemed safe, and the police gradually withdrew.
"The news from Graz hits home," said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the online service X. It is "hard to bear when schools become places of death and violence." EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas expressed her "deep shock" at the violent incident. Every child should "feel safe at school and be able to learn free from fear and violence," she wrote on the online service Bluesky.
Such acts of violence are extremely rare in Austria. According to the Global Peace Index, the Alpine country is among the ten safest countries in the world.
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