Austria in shock and pain after tragedy in Grac – BBC News in Serbian
The shock, sadness and disbelief are the predominant feelings in Graz after the largest mass murder in modern Austrian history.
« We could never even imagine that something like that could happen to us, in our city. This is a sad day for the whole Graz, » said River, who lives near the school.
Austria has been spared pain for years due to mass shootings in schools.
But everything was changed for about 10 hours 10. June when the former student went wild in High School in Drajeveršescase, near the main station in the second largest city of Austria.
Morning classes were in progress when the attack took place.
Some school students took the final exams.
The police took 17 minutes to put the situation under control.
Until then, six people of female and three men were killed from two guns.
A few hours later, the seventh victim, an adult, deceased in the hospital.
There are a few more in the hospital, of which there are harderly wounded.
The attacker, a twenty-year Austrian citizen, took his life at school.
A former student who never passed the final exams, allegedly perceived himself as a victim of bullying.
The river, a resident of Graca, told me not to realize that such an attack could have happened in her, well-landed city.
« This area is quiet, safe and beautiful, » she said.
« People are kind, the school is good. »
Austrian President Aleksandar Van Der Belen said « this horror cannot be described in words ».
« What happened at school in Graz affects our country right into the heart.
« They were young people who had their whole life in front of them. And their teacher who followed them on their way, » he said.
He also added that « nothing at this moment can mitigate the pain who feels parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters and friends killed. »
Austrian Chancellor Kristijan Stoker, who went to the face with the Minister of Internal Affairs, Gerhard Carner, called the mass murder « National Tragedy who shook the whole country ».
There are no words to describe « pain and sadness that all of us, the whole Austria, feel, » he added.
In Austria, three days of mourning were declared.
Flags on the Palace of Hofburg in Vienna, where the office of the President Van Der Belen’s office, are lowered to half the spear.
Austria has one of the most advanced civilians in Europe, with estimated 30 pieces of firearms per 100 people, according to the information of an independent research project Small Arms Survey.
But shootings in Austrian schools are rare.
Several incidents have been recorded with a far smaller number of victims:
- In 2018, the nineteenth-year-old in Mistelbach, north of Vienna, shot another young man.
- 2012. In St. Peltena, the student killed his father.
- In 1997, in Ceberna, the fifteen-year-old killed the teacher and severely wounded another.
- And in 1993. year, the thirteen-year-old in Hauslazen was seriously injured by the school principal, and then committed suicide.
The most violent armed attack in Austria has happened in the heart of Vienna in November 2020.
Four people were killed, and 22 wounded when the convicted jihadist ran through the city center by opening fire.
Police then shot him.
The machine guns are prohibited, while revolvers, guns and semi-automatic weapons are only allowed with official approval.
The rifles and shotguns can be possessed with a license, with a valid hunting license, or for members of traditional shooting clubs.
It is considered that the attacker from Grac legally possessed both firearms and that he had no criminal record.
One of his guns was only purchased before the attack, according to one report.
In front of the school, the young man on the bike watched the police miss the security vehicles through the security cordon around the school.
« It’s awful, » he told me.
« This is my home. I can’t understand that so many people are dead. This shouldn’t happen here. »
Wedding for victims
Thousands gathered on squares in Austrian cities, lies fresh for victims of shooting at school.
The Archbishop Fountain Johann is known as the heart of the old town of Graz, in front of the city house.
On Tuesday, 10. June in the evening became a symbol of sadness and solidarity of the people of Austria.
« When you hear about something like this, overwhelm you sympathy with people … Maybe he could be among the victims who you knew, » said Felix Placer to the news agency Reuters.
« This is an example of solidarity and mourn together, it is easier to deal with it, » this resident of Graca added during Ghod.
