A former student has killed nine people in a shooting that took place at a secondary school in Graz, south-eastern Austria. 30 people were injured in the shooting spree, with the perpetrator then taking his own life.
The 22-year-old gunman, armed with a pistol and shotgun which he owned legally according to a report by daily Salzburger Nachrichten, later took his own life, police stated.
Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker called the shooting a “national tragedy.”
The incident occurred shortly before the tenth memorial anniversary of the Graz terrorist attack on 20 June 2015, which left three people dead.
The country’s first-ever school shooting of such magnitude has sparked EU-wide condolences.
In a post on social media, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote “The news from Graz hits home.” German FM Johann Wadephul said “my condolences and sympathy in these difficult times go out to everyone in Austria.”
European Council President António Costa said he was “horrified” by the “senseless act of violence”.
Austrians are more heavily armed than most Europeans, according to the 2018 independent Small Arms Survey, which found almost 30 firearms per one hundred citizens – more than double that of neighbouring Czechia and Hungary.
(cs)