Austria under shock: Death to the School at AmoFlauf
Grief and horror in Austria: There is a difficult tragedy at a school in Graz-a 21-year-old shoots nine people and themselves. There were initially six female and three male fatalities, said Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) a few hours after the act. In addition to the dead, there were twelve injuries, some of them seriously.
An adult woman who had previously been seriously injured in the University Hospital Graz succumbed to her injuries in the evening, reported the Austrian APA agency, citing the hospital. The perpetrator killed ten people.
The first emergency calls were received by the police at around 10 a.m., it was reported by shots and screams. According to the authorities, the former student of the high school is said to have shot two weapons on students and teachers. He had the weapons legally.
At first there was no information about the motif of the 21-year-old Austrian. You know that he did not complete the school. However, it can only be speculated about the background, said Karner. According to the media, the 21-year-old is said to have been bullied during his school days. The minister describes this as speculation. The investigation would run at full speed.
Chancellor: School has to « remain place of peace »
« This act meets us all, » said Chancellor Christian Stocker. You have to stand together as a society now. Today it is about compassion and « the power of cohesion. » The schools would have to « remain the places of peace, » said Stocker.
The Prime Minister of Styria, Mario Kunasek (FPÖ), speaks visibly moved of an « incredible tragedy ». You have to go through these hours and days together. The life of many has « changed dramatically » with today. The state of Styria will not hold any public events in the next three days.
School assistant stabs pocket control
More than 160 rescuers in action
The ex-student is said to have opened fire at around 10 a.m. Special units were immediately alerted, the building was evacuated. According to the authorities, 300 police forces were deployed. According to the police, the population was now encouraged to avoid the area around the educational institution and to follow the instructions from the security forces on site. According to the city, the parents and the uninjured students were accommodated in surrounding halls and looked after by crisis intervention teams.
In pictures and videos you can see how numerous rescue workers, police forces and civil servants of the special unit surround the school building. As a spokesman for the local Red Cross of the German Press Agency said, more than 160 rescuers were in action. Several rescue helicopters were also requested. A special alarm plan from the country for the care of numerous injuries has been activated.
Help with suicide thoughts
As a rule, the « Luxembourg word » does not report about suicide so as not to give an incentive for imitation – except for suicides, the circumstances experience special attention.
If you are depressed or have suicide idea, please contact emergency call 112 immediately.
On the Tel. 45 45 45 of the SOS Détresse service, you can get help from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. – help from advisors who can show ways out of difficult situations.
On the phone 116 111, children and adolescents can contact the children’s and youth phone (KJT) anonymously, confidentially and free of charge.
Information and advice on online security and the responsible use of information and communication technologies- for example in connection with computer protection, cyber pollution and social media- can be found at BEE Secure Helpline (Tel. 8002 1234).
Further information also at: www.prevent-suicide.lu.
State grants: flags set on half mast
Austria will commemorate the victim of the killing spree with a three -day state mourning. There should be a nationwide minute on Wednesday. The flags to the presidential office and the Federal Chancellery as well as on other official buildings would be set to half mast.
« The killing spree at a school in Graz is a national tragedy that shakes our entire country deeply, » Austria’s Chancellor Christian Stocker wrote shortly after the crime on the platform X. There are no words for pain and grief. « This horror is not in words, » said Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen on X. « Austria mourns. »
Gun dealer speaks of « Super-Gau »
The killing spree in Austria is likely to rejuvenate the debate about weapons law. In the Alpine Republic, the legal acquisition of weapons is comparatively uncomplicated, explains Markus Schwaiger, managing director of the Vienna Waffenhandel Eurogun. « With us, every adult EU citizen with residence in Austria, against whom there is no weapon ban, can acquire certain rifles after a waiting period and registration several days. »
According to the police, the perpetrator had a gun ownership card that is necessary for the purchase of a pistol. For this, a so -called gun driver’s license must be acquired – it includes both comprehensive theoretical and practical training and a psychological assessment. An gunmaker with a weapon ownership card-« This is a kind of super-gau, » says Schwaiger.
So far, gunner or the assassin had usually used long weapons or illegal weapons at the Islamist attack in Vienna in November 2020, according to the arms dealer. According to his knowledge, the current case is a novelty.
Overall, in Austria – measured by the population – there are particularly many weapons in private households. According to the Ministry of the Interior, around 1.1 million firearms were registered a few years ago. The number of illegal weapons in the country is estimated by experts to at least one million – possibly significantly more.
Amo ride in Graz almost ten years ago
As the worst killing spree, the tragedy is likely to go into the history of the neighboring country. In May 1997, a 16-year-old shot a teacher in the Lower Austrian community of Zöbern and seriously injured a second. In 2018, an 18-year-old was sentenced to six years in prison for attempted murder after a planned killing spree. He had shot and seriously injured a 19-year-old in front of a school in Mistelbach north of Vienna with a shotgun.
Graz was the scene of a tragedy of this kind for the second time. In June 2015, a man drove his car over the sidewalk and pedestrian zones at high speed. Three people were killed and 36 injured. With around 300,000 inhabitants, Graz is the second largest city in Austria.
The school is a so-called federal high school. At such schools, students are usually 14 years and older. The school shows 17 school classes on its website and a photo of around 40 teachers.
