A shooting at a secondary school in Graz, Austria, on Tuesday morning, has resulted in several deaths and injuries, according to local media.
At least ten people have died, according to the Austrian press agency APA, citing the mayor of the city, Elke Kahr.
Kahr previously stated that the perpetrator was among the dead. Austrian media initially reported that the perpetrator was a student at the school who took his own life.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Austrian Interior Minister, Gerhard Karner, said that 12 people were injured in the incident and confirmed the death of 10 people, including the perpetrator.
Karner revealed that the perpetrator was a 21-year-old former student of the school. He was an Austrian from the Graz region. He did not finish secondary school.
The police confirmed that after committing the massacre, the perpetrator died by suicide in the school bathroom.
According to the police, the 21-year-old was not known to them. The perpetrator used two weapons in the shooting, which were most likely legally owned. These were a long gun and a handgun.
The perpetrator acted alone, according to the authorities. His motives remain unclear at this time.
Belgium's Foreign Minister, Maxime Prévot (Les Engagés), reacted to the news on social media. "Our hearts go out to the victims, their families, and the entire school community during this time of unimaginable grief," he wrote. "Schools must always be places of safety, learning, and hope, not scenes of violence."
European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, also took it to X to express her condolences. "The news from Graz hits hard," she wrote. "Schools are symbols of youth, hope and the future. It is difficult to bear when schools become places of death and violence."
This article was updated at 16:25 with details from the Interior Minister and reactions from Prévot and Von der Leyen.
