This is the first picture of the “drop out” school shooter who killed 10 people in Austria this week in one of the worst act of violence in the country’s history.
Identified as Arthur A, the 21-year-old is understood to be a former pupil at the school in the southern city of Graz.
He can be seen pictured holding a cat in the first images to emerge since the massacre on Tuesday morning.
Investigators have also found a video recorded by the attacker which he sent to his mother before his rampage, as well as a “farewell letter”.
Former classmates have said he was subjected to severe bullying during his school years, according to reports, although officials are yet to specify a motive.
His mother had opened the recording 24 minutes after receiving it before immediately notifying emergency services, Austrian news outlet Heute reports.
But by that time, Arthur had fatally shot a teacher and nine pupils between the ages of 14 and 17 at BORG Dreierschützengasse secondary school, before turning the gun on himself in a toilet.
At least seven of those killed in the attack were students, Graz mayor Elke Kahr added, explaining that dozens had been left injured.
amoklauf an grazer schule wtf pic.twitter.com/paZepMJkBE
— Dom (@d3miniic) June 10, 2025
Lea, a 15-year-old from Kosovo, was among those who died. Another 15-year-old girl named Hana Akmadžićis has also been identified as a victim.
A teacher said she and her students barricaded themselves in a classroom as the horror unfolded.
Police said that Arthur used two weapons, a pistol and shotgun, which he owned legally.
Authorities also found abandoned plans for a bombing and a non-functional pipe bomb in a search of the assailant's home, suggesting he may have sought to murder more.
The suspect had studied at the school but did not graduate, Austria’s interior minister Gerhard Karner said.
Styrian State police director Gerald Ortner confirmed that officers did not have any prior information about the gunman before the attack.
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.
There is no record of a mass shooting in Austria with a death toll this high since the end of the Second World War.
