At least eleven people, including the suspected gunman, have died following a shooting at a school in the Austrian city of Graz, according to local media reports.
The incident unfolded on Tuesday morning at a secondary school, prompting a major police operation in the area. Authorities said gunshots were heard inside the building around 10am local time, and the school was swiftly cordoned off.
The suspect, believed to be a student at the school, is thought to have died by suicide. His body was reportedly discovered in a washroom, though officials have yet to confirm this detail publicly.
Austrian broadcaster ORF and several local news outlets reported that students and teachers were among those seriously injured in the attack.
Footage shared on social media showed police vehicles arriving at the scene and officers entering the premises. Emergency services and armed police conducted a thorough search of the school building while the surrounding area remained secured.
Parents of students who managed to escape were later allowed to reunite with their children. The injured were being treated at nearby hospitals.
A teacher’s husband told Krone Zeitung that his wife had been barricaded in a classroom with students and had heard multiple gunshots.
The shooting occurred just weeks before the tenth anniversary of a deadly attack in Graz on 20 June 2015, in which three people were killed and dozens injured when a man drove a vehicle into a crowd in the city centre.
The motive behind Tuesday’s shooting remains unknown. Investigations are ongoing.
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