What we know about Austria school shooting

Students were sitting successful their classrooms astatine a secondary schoolhouse successful Graz erstwhile a 21-year-old Austrian antheral changeable dormant 9 people, earlier sidesplitting himself.

Twelve radical were injured successful Tuesday morning's violence, with 1 idiosyncratic dying hours aboriginal successful infirmary from their injuries.

The incidental was the deadliest wide shooting successful Austria's caller past and the state has declared 3 days of mourning.

Police are inactive investigating wherefore the gunman - a erstwhile pupil who did not postgraduate - carried retired the attack.

Here is what we cognize truthful far.

The archetypal changeable echoed done Dreierschützengasse secondary school, successful the north-west of Graz, adjacent to the main bid station, astatine astir 10:00 section clip (09:00 BST), initially sparking disorder arsenic to what was happening.

"Was that a shot? That can't beryllium true. Something indispensable person fallen astatine the operation tract crossed the street," a 17-year-old student, identified arsenic F, said to his friends, according to the Kleine Zeitung newspaper.

One pupil told Die Presse that erstwhile shots rang out, his teacher instantly locked the classroom.

Another pupil told the insubstantial that astatine archetypal she thought the shots were firecrackers, but "then determination was screaming, and we ran".

Local nonmigratory Astrid, who lives successful a gathering adjacent to the school, told the BBC she heard 30 oregon 40 shots. Her hubby Franz called the police.

"We saw 1 pupil astatine the model - it looked similar helium was getting acceptable to leap out... but past helium went backmost inside," Franz said.

The mates aboriginal saw the students had "got retired of the schoolhouse connected the crushed floor, from the different side" wherever they "gathered connected the street", Franz said.

The shooter took his ain beingness successful a schoolhouse bath soon aft the weapon attack, the authorities said.

Police brought the concern nether power successful 17 minutes. More than 300 constabulary officers, including a specializer Cobra tactical portion which handles attacks and hostage situations, were deployed to the school.

Six females and 3 males were killed successful the attack, and a seventh pistillate died aboriginal successful hospital. Austria's APA quality bureau has reported that 7 of those killed were pupils.

The victims person not yet been named by the authorities.

One woman, Tores, told BBC News successful Graz's main quadrate connected Wednesday that she knew 1 of the boys who had died. He was 17.

"I've cognize this household for a agelong time, including the lad of the family, and knew that helium attended that school. I rang immediately, to inquire if everything is OK. Then they fto maine cognize astatine midday, that the lad was 1 of those slaughtered," she said.

"What happened yesterday is wholly awful, the full of Austria is successful mourning," she said. "This is unspeakable for the full of Austria."

People who had been injured were successful a unchangeable information arsenic of Wednesday, Austrian media reported.

The 21-year-old, who has not yet been named, was an Austrian antheral from the wider Graz portion who acted alone, constabulary said.

He was a erstwhile Dreierschützengasse pupil who did not postgraduate from the school, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner told a quality league connected Tuesday.

In a connection connected Wednesday, constabulary said they recovered a "farewell letter" and a non-functional tube weaponry during a hunt of the suspect's home. Authorities person not confirmed the gunman's motive.

Current accusation suggests the shooter legally owned the 2 guns utilized successful the onslaught and had a firearms licence, constabulary added.

Austria has 1 of the astir heavy equipped civilian populations successful Europe, with an estimated 30 firearms per 100 persons, according to the Small Arms Survey, an autarkic probe project.

Machine guns and pump enactment guns are banned, portion revolvers, pistols and semi-automatic weapons are allowed lone with authoritative authorisation. Rifles and shotguns are permitted with a firearms licence oregon a valid hunting licence, oregon for members of accepted shooting clubs.

School shootings are rare. There person been a fewer incidents implicit the years that person progressive acold less casualties:

• In 2018, a 19-year-old was changeable by different younker successful Mistelbach, northbound of Vienna
• In 2012 successful St Pölten, a pupil was changeable dormant by his father
• In 1997, successful Zöbern, a 15-year-old killed a teacher and earnestly injured another
• In 1993, a 13-year-old lad successful Hausleiten earnestly injured the caput teacher and past killed himself

Austria's astir convulsive weapon onslaught successful caller years took spot successful the bosom of Vienna successful November 2020. Four radical were killed and 22 injured erstwhile a convicted jihadist ran done the centre of the metropolis opening fire, earlier helium was yet changeable by police.

Fanny Gasser, a writer for the Austrian regular paper Kronen Zeitung, told BBC News the schoolhouse was apt unprepared for the anticipation of an attack.

"We are not surviving successful America, we are surviving successful Austria, which seems similar a precise harmless space."