The death toll in a school shooting in the Austrian city of Graz by a ‘drop out’ former pupil has risen to 11.
A former pupil armed with two guns opened fire in two classrooms shortly before 10am on Tuesday.
The death toll had stood at 10 - including the gunman - but that rose to 11 when one of two critically injured adults lost their fight for life in hospital on Tuesday afternoon.
The 21-year-old sole suspect in the mass shooting had been a pupil at the school but did not graduate, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said.
"Anything else is still speculation," he added. "It was a former pupil but he hadn't finished the school."
Witnesses said they heard as many as 20 gunshots, while one teacher and her students reportedly barricaded themselves in a classroom as the horror unfolded.
A teacher and students were among those killed in the attack, the Mayor of Graz Elke Kahr confirmed, describing the attack as a “terrible tragedy”.
At least seven of those killed in the attack were students, the mayor added, explaining that dozens had been left injured.
Mr Karner, before the death toll rose, explained that there had been six female victims and three male victims, but did not initially confirm if they were students or teachers.
State police director Gerald Ortner added that the police did not have any prior information about the gunman. He owned two weapons legally, he told reporters.
#graz https://t.co/ZWhMnYU0Ed pic.twitter.com/7tjBlb7XRO
— Dom (@d3miniic) June 10, 2025
Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung reported that the suspect was found dead in the school toilets after the attack.
Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper cited unconfirmed reports as saying the suspect was armed with a pistol and a shotgun.
Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker called the mass shooting a "national tragedy”.
A vigil was held in the main square of Graz on Tuesday evening to honour the victims with candles lit for those who lost their lives and their families. Candles were also left near the school.
The mother of one child who survived the shooting told local media she received a call from her son saying he was being shot at.
“He thought he was going to die," she explained. "I've only found out now, two hours later, that he's still alive.
“I want to go and see him. I’ve tried asking three people if they will lend me their bicycle to go and see him. They wouldn’t let me. That breaks me. I call on everyone involved to work on making the world a good place.
“It’s down to every one of us. There is no alternative.”
A father of two students at the school described to local media how one of his sons had been in a classroom where the attacker opened fire.
To avoid being shot, the teenager lay on the floor and pretended to be dead, his father told PULS 24 News.
Special forces were among those sent to the BORG Dreierschützengasse high school after shots were heard at around 10am on Tuesday.
Austrian police confirmed 90 minutes later that the school had been evacuated and everyone had been taken to a safe meeting point.
They explained that the situation was “secured” and there is no longer believed to be any danger.
What are the gun laws in Austria?
- Austria has 30 firearms per 100 people, the 13th highest globally, according to Data Panda.
- While high, this is still significantly lower than the US’s 120.5 guns per 100 people.
- Gun laws in Austria are generally more liberal than the rest of Europe, and the ownership of certain rifles and shotguns, which are considered “war material”, is legal for EU citizens over the age of 18 and do not require a permit.
- For handguns and semi-automatic firearms, which are “not war material” according to the Austrian Government, require a permit for those over the age of 21.
Footage shared online showed the moment firearms officers evacuated the school.
While other footage was said to show people taking shelter in classrooms as the gunman went on his rampage as gunshots can be heard.
#BREAKING | Footage recorded by one of the students captured moments of today's fatal shooting attack in Austria's Graz. Gun shoots can be heard in the video. pic.twitter.com/wLA849vpzj
— TrendScope - Latest trends on X 📡 (@TrendsIntel) June 10, 2025
The Mayor of Graz Elke Kahr also explained she had been to the scene and that some of the children and teachers from the school had since been taken to the Helmut List Hall in Graz.
Students were also being reunited with their families at the ASKÖ Hall in the city.
Chancellor Mr Stocker said: "The rampage at a school in Graz is a national tragedy that has deeply shaken our entire country"
"There are no words for the pain and grief that we all - all of Austria- are feeling right now," he added.
He declared three days of national mourning.
"It's incomprehensible and unbearable. My sympathy and grief go out to the victims and their families. No one can imagine the suffering; as a mother of three children, it breaks my heart," Austria's Minister for European and International Affairs Beate Meinl-Reisinger wrote on X.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on X: "Every child should feel safe at school and be able to learn free from fear and violence. My thoughts are with the victims, their families and the Austrian people in this dark moment."
Graz, Austria’s second-biggest city, is located in the southeast of the country and has about 300,000 inhabitants.
Austria has one of the most heavily armed civilian populations in Europe, with an estimated 30 firearms per 100 persons, according to the Small Arms Survey, an independent research project, however mass shootings are relatively rare.
Four people were killed and 22 injured when a convicted jihadist went on a shooting spree in the centre of Vienna in 2020. In November 1997, a 36-year-old mechanic shot dead six people in the town of Mauterndorf before killing himself.
Machine guns and pump action guns are banned, while revolvers, pistols and semi-automatic weapons are allowed only with official authorisation. Rifles and shotguns are permitted with a firearms licence or a valid hunting licence, or for members of traditional shooting clubs.
