Austrian authorities are intensely searching for answers following a deadly attack where a 21-year-old armed gunman killed 10 people at his former high school before taking his own life. The incident marks one of the most violent attacks in the country’s modern history.
Among those killed in Tuesday’s attack was a young woman of Kosovar origin. Police confirmed the attacker, armed with a rifle, acted alone.
Security authorities are currently searching the attacker’s home and his online activity for clues that could explain why he carried out the assault in Austria’s second-largest city, Graz, before committing suicide in a bathroom.
“It is very difficult to understand this event,” said Paul Nitsche, a religious studies teacher at the school, who exited his classroom before the attacker attempted to enter, briefly seeing him trying to shoot the lock of another door. “This is something I could never have imagined before. As I ran down the stairs, I thought to myself: ‘This isn’t real’,” he told national broadcaster ORF.
Several Austrian media outlets have reported that the young man, who has not yet been identified, reportedly felt bullied, though police have not confirmed this. Austrian authorities stated he had never completed his studies at that school.
He had left a suicide note, which, according to police, does not reveal the motive for the attack. Additionally, a homemade bomb found in his home was non-functional.
Franz Ruf, the general director of public security, stated that investigations into the motive are being conducted rapidly. “We do not want to speculate at this moment,” he told ORF on Tuesday evening.
Austrian police confirmed that victims were found inside and outside the school, on different floors. Dozens of others were injured in the attack, some in critical condition.
Austria declared three days of national mourning on Tuesday following the attack. The event has sparked a rare wave of solidarity among political parties, typically deeply divided in their stances. Parents of students and residents near the school are struggling to comprehend what happened.
Hundreds of people gathered on Tuesday evening in Graz’s main square to honor the victims. Others placed flowers and lit candles near the school. Dozens of people lined up to donate blood for the survivors.
