Austria school attack: 9 people reported dead in shooting in Graz city

Eight people have been killed after a shooting at a school in the Austrian city of Graz on Tuesday

Nine people have been killed and several injured after a shooter opened fire at a school in the Austrian city of Graz on Tuesday, according to multiple media reports. The suspected perpetrator is also dead and the school has been secured, according to a report by CNN.

Austria’s interior ministry confirmed the toll to CNN and stated that the victims included children in the age group of 14 and 18 years old.

After the incident, several vehicles and forces were deployed as the police launched a massive operation to assess the entire situation.

Graz Police spokesperson Sabri Yorgun said special Cobra units were among those dispatched to the high school after they received a call at 10 am (local time) and that authorities were making efforts to get an overview of what had happened, Euro News reported.

According to Austrian press agency, Mayor Elke Kahr described the event as a “terrible tragedy". Kahr said that many people were taken to hospitals with injuries.

At 11.30 am, police wrote on social network X that the school had been evacuated and everyone had been taken to a safe meeting point. They wrote that the situation was “secured” and there is no longer believed to be any danger.

Graz, Austria's second most populous city, is located in the southeast of the country and has a population of around 3,00,000 people.

Austrian public broadcaster ORF, citing police, stated that a student was behind the shooting. A local police spokesman told Reuters that the area had been secured. People had been evacuated from the school and relatives of the victims and pupils were being cared for, he said.

"There is no further danger for the population, but there are several dead," he told Austrian television.