Graz, Austria, School Shooting: What to Know

Ten people were killed on Tuesday in a mass shot In a high school in Graz, in Austria. The shooter, a former student, was also found dead, in apparent suicide, the police said.

It was the deadliest attack In recent Austrian history and one of the deadliest school shots in Europe.

The Austrian chancellor, Christian Store, described the shooting “national tragedyAnd declared three days of mourning.

What happened?

The officials said that the 21 -year -old shooter opened fire on Tuesday morning in Borg Dreierschützengasse, where he was a former student. He was found dead in a school bathroom. Police did not release the name of the suspect.

The police said they received information on a shooting around 10 a.m. on Tuesday and responded with heavy force. The specially trained COBRA units – the Austrian version of the Swat teams – arrived at the scene, just like a police helicopter. More than 300 officers responded.

The school was evacuated at the end of the morning, the students sent to a neighboring stadium.

Austrian schools were closed on Monday for the Pentecost holidays, so students had just returned to lessons after a long weekend.

What do we know in the suspect and the victims?

Austrian officials said six of the people killed on campus were women and that three were men. Another victim, a woman, later died in a hospital. Authorities have said that they would not disclose more information on the victims as long as preliminary investigations were not completed.

Police said the shooter had attended school but had not graduated. He arrived there Tuesday armed with a pistol and a longer weapon; The police did not specify whether it was a hunting rifle or a rifle. The officials said he had legally acquired arms.

How are mass shots rare in Austria?

There were two mass shots in Austria between 2000 and 2022, both since 2010, according to a analysis Published in 2024 by the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, a reflection group based in Albany, NY during this period, there were 109 mass shots in the United States, according to the archives of the Institute.

Graz, the second largest city in Austria after the capital, Vienna, experienced a mass attack In 2015, when a man with history of domestic violence Drive a car in crowds Then attacked passers -by with a knife. Three people were killed.

Austria has also had violence related to terrorism in recent years.

In 2024, security officials thwart a plot To attack people during a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna. In 2020, a shooter killed four people And injured 23 others in Vienna. The man had already been arrested in suspicion of having tried to join Isis.

Are firearms common in Austria?

Austrian civilians are among the most armed in the world, according to a 2017 Estimate of the investigation into light weaponsA research group based in Geneva.

At the time, Austria ranked 12th in the world in the detention of firearms per person, according to data. The Austrians held around 2.6 million firearms, According to the investigationOr around 30 firearms for 100 civilians. The United States then had around 120.5 cannons per 100 people, the survey showed.

Aaron Karp, a principal consultant at The Small Arms Survey, said in a telephone interview that there were 1.4 million firearms recorded in Austria in early 2023, citing data provided by the Austrian government.

“Austria, in many ways, has been extremely lucky,” said Karp, who described the country as having both a “strong firearm culture” and “relatively low homicide figures”.

Pump rifles are prohibited in Austriawhich has 9.2 million inhabitants. And official authorization is necessary to legally acquire a handgun, a semi-automatic firearm or a repetitive hunting rifle. Austrians must be 21 years old to legally acquire most pistols or semi-automatic weapons, Karp said.