Rescue paramedics are seen next to an ambulance car close to a school where, according to reports, several people died in a shooting, in Graz, southeastern Austria, June 10, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
The mayor of the southeastern Austrian city of Graz says ten people have been killed after a suspected shooter opened fire in a high school.
Mayor Elke Kahr on Tuesday said gunshots were heard inside a high school building (Dreierschützengasse Secondary School) at around 10 am local time (0800 GMT).
“Currently, a police operation is underway ... The reason for the deployment was that gunshots were heard in the building,” the police said on X at the time, confirming the rampage in Graz.
“The situation is currently very unclear. It could be active shooter situations … The identities of those affected are currently being established,” the police added.
It was midday when the situation was deemed “safe” for the population, and the police vehicles slowly withdrew from the area, the police said.
As a result of the attack, 9 students and one teacher, as well as the suspected shooter, lost their lives.
According to initial information, the perpetrator likely acted alone. He was a 22-year-old former student who was presumably bullied while he was a student. After opening fire inside two classrooms, he turned the gun on himself. However, Austrian police have not confirmed any of this information.
The Red Cross was still fully operational at midday. Stefan Loseries, the spokesperson for Red Cross Austria Branch said that over 160 Red Cross rescue workers were deployed during the operation and the injured people were distributed to several hospitals in and around Graz.
The number of wounded people is still unknown, but local media report that at least 30 people have been wounded. Several students and teachers have suffered severe injuries and are in critical condition, the Red Cross said.
Austria’s Chancellor Christian Stocker expressed horror at the shooting and wrote on X: “The rampage at a school in Graz is a national tragedy that has deeply shaken our entire country. This inconceivable act suddenly tore young people from the life they still had ahead of them. There are no words for the pain and grief.”
Unlike in the US, school shootings are uncommon in Austria, a country with a low occurrence of gun violence.
According to Jason Silva, a member of the Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium at the Rockefeller Institute of Government, Austria had two public mass shootings between 2000 and 2022, compared with 109 in the same period in the US.
