Austria Shaken By Fatal School Attack As Nation Grieves

A devastating shooting incident took place in Graz on Tuesday, where a young man who once attended the school ended the lives of 10 individuals before taking his own, according to law enforcement officials. The tragedy ranks among the most severe such events in Europe in recent years.

Although lessons have been halted for at least a week, many students still showed up near the school premises on Wednesday morning, evidently unable to stay away from the place that had just witnessed a horrific act of violence.

A small crowd gathered near the high school grounds in Graz the scene where a former pupil carried out the deadly attack standing apart from other sympathizers and members of the press, within an area marked off by authorities.

Like countless other Austrians, they struggled to grasp how such brutal violence something they usually only associated with faraway headlines from America could suddenly erupt in their peaceful Alpine town.

“We’re just speechless this seems to have come from nowhere,” said Simone Saccon, 20, a university student who grew up in Graz. His home is close to the BORG Dreierschützengasse school, and he was among the many standing outside that day.

“It’s something you imagine happens in major cities or in the U.S., but that it would happen here?” he added.

The nation was wrapped in sorrow as the news spread. Black flags were hoisted atop the city’s public trams in Graz, a prosperous urban center and Austria’s second-largest city.

At 10 a.m., rail traffic came to a halt as the entire country paused for a moment of silence in remembrance of those lost.

Police reassured the public that there was no lingering threat, though authorities confirmed the discovery of an undetonated pipe bomb at the shooter’s residence. The 21-year-old perpetrator had left behind what officials described as a “farewell letter” along with a recorded video addressed to his parents, before returning to the very school where he had once been a student but never completed his education.

He then unleashed gunfire with both a handgun and a shotgun, ultimately taking his own life inside one of the school’s bathrooms, as stated by investigators.

According to officials, the contents of the farewell note shed little light on what could have driven this young man who lawfully owned his firearms to commit one of the deadliest school shootings Europe has seen in a decade. Franz Ruf, head of public security at Austria’s Interior Ministry, shared with a television channel that no clear motive could be gleaned from the document.

Thus, the nation was left grappling with unanswered questions a painful reflection mirrored by communities worldwide that have endured similar senseless violence.

“What’s really important now is to talk, to be silent together, to listen,” said Paul Nitsche, 51, a pastor and religion teacher at the school, as he stood in front of the space set aside for grieving students.

The Austrian chancellor, Christian Stocker, canceled his scheduled events to immediately travel to Graz, declaring three days of national mourning, including the observance of silence on Wednesday. Both citizens and leaders found themselves shaken by the scale of the tragedy.

Most of those who died were young students six girls and three boys aged between 14 and 17, according to law enforcement reports. Another victim, a teacher, succumbed to injuries at a hospital afterward.

Pastor Nitsche was alone in an empty classroom between lessons when he first heard the gunfire. His instinct told him to stay hidden and still. “It was as silent as if it was the middle of the night,” he said. “Everyone was playing dead — smart.”

When it seemed the danger had passed, he cautiously stepped into the hallway and caught sight of the attacker trying to force open a locked door by firing at it. Fleeing the scene, he noticed the lifeless body of a female student before dashing away and finally seeing the arrival of heavily armed officers. “So many uniforms can be really comforting,” he said.