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A gunman who opened fire and killed 10 people before taking his own life in a school in Austria was a former student of the college, police have confirmed.
Authorities said the gunman, a 21-year-old Austrian national, opened fire at the BORG school in Graz just after 10am local time.
Interior minister Gerhard Karner said there were six female and three male victims of the shooting, with twelve injured. Some of those injured remain in a serious condition and are being treated in hospital.
One of two critically injured adults died, Universitatsklinkum Graz Hospital said, taking the number of people killed to 10.
The gunman took his own life in the bathroom at the school, police told a press conference.
Mr Karner said that the shooter had licences for his guns and therefore owned them legally. He had attended the school but had not graduated.
Austrian chancellor Christian Stocker said there were no words to describe the pain being felt across the country following the attack.
“The school shooting in Graz is a national tragedy that has deeply shaken our entire country,” he said in a statement.
Full report | At least 10 dead in Graz school shooting with major police operation underway in Austria
Jabed Ahmed11 June 2025 03:00
Watch: Gun shots heard in classroom as armed police storm building to rescue students
Jabed Ahmed11 June 2025 02:00
Shooting one of the deadliest attack in Austria’s postwar history
Tuesday’s violence appeared to be the deadliest attack in Austria’s postwar history.
Other attacks in the country include when four people were killed in Vienna in 2020 and the suspect, a sympathizer of the Islamic State group, also died in a shooting that stunned the Austrian capital. More than 20 other people, including a police officer, were wounded.
In 2019, a 25-year-old man turned himself into Austrian police after he killed his ex-girlfriend, her family and her new boyfriend in the Alpine resort town of Kitzbuehel.
Almost exactly 10 years ago, on 20 June 2015, a man killed three people and injured more than 30 when he drove through a crowd in downtown Graz with an SUV.
Jabed Ahmed11 June 2025 01:00
Austria's gun culture
Austria has some of the more liberal gun laws in the European Union.
Traditionally, many in the Alpine region go hunting, and it’s more common to carry a weapon for that purpose than for self-defence.
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’s no weapons ban on the buyer, and the weapon is then added to 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.
Jabed Ahmed10 June 2025 23:59
Director of Public Security issues more detail on shooting
Director General of Public Security Franz Ruf told state broadcaster ORF that victims were found outside and inside the school on various floors, adding the gunman had been armed with both a shotgun and a pistol, both found at the scene.
Ruf also told ORF the suspect had left behind a farewell letter, both in analogue and digital form, in which he said goodbye to his parents but gave no indication of a motive, which was still being investigated.
Jabed Ahmed10 June 2025 23:00
Everything we know so far about attack which killed 10 and injured 12
Jabed Ahmed10 June 2025 22:30
Residents hold vigil for victims
Jabed Ahmed10 June 2025 21:59
Austria enters three days of mourning
Chancellor Christian Stocker has described the attack as “a dark day in the history of our country”.
Speaking at a press conference in Graz, Mr Stocker announced three days of national mourning and called for a minute’s silence at 10am (9am BST) on Wednesday.
He was joined by senior officials, including Interior Minister Gerhard Karner, as Austria begins to reckon with the scale of the tragedy.
Jabed Ahmed10 June 2025 21:29
The shooting happened inside two classrooms, local media reports
The Salzburger Nachrichten reported that the attacker opened fire inside two classrooms, one of which he had previously studied in.
The newspaper, citing unnamed sources, said he was armed with both a pistol and a shotgun.
Police have not confirmed these details, but said the investigation was ongoing.
Jabed Ahmed10 June 2025 20:59
Farewell note found at suspect’s home - reports
Police discovered a farewell note at the shooter’s home, according to Austria’s Kronen-Zeitung newspaper.
Authorities have not commented on the contents of the letter or whether it sheds light on the motive.
The paper did not specify when the note was found or who it was addressed to.
Jabed Ahmed10 June 2025 20:39
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