Ten people have been confirmed dead after a suspected shooter opened fire at a school in the southeastern Austrian city of Graz on Tuesday. Among the victims were several students, at least one adult, and the suspected shooter, according to local authorities.
Mayor Elke Kahr confirmed the deaths to the Austrian press agency APA, but the police are still in the midst of an ongoing operation, with gunshots reported from the building earlier in the day. “Currently, a police operation is underway… The reason for the deployment was that gunshots were heard in the building,” the police stated on X (formerly Twitter), confirming the attack.
The situation remains unclear, and officials from both the police and the interior ministry have not been immediately available for comment. Sources told APA that the full scope of the event is still under investigation.
School shootings are a rarity in Europe compared to the United States, but the continent has been shaken by a series of such incidents in recent years, with none linked to terrorism. The incident in Graz follows a disturbing trend of attacks on educational institutions across Europe. In January 2025, an 18-year-old man killed a high school student and a teacher in northeastern Slovakia. A month earlier, a 19-year-old attacked a primary school in Zagreb, Croatia, fatally stabbing a seven-year-old and injuring others.
In 2023, a student at a university in Prague carried out an attack that left 14 dead and 25 wounded, and a 13-year-old shooter in Belgrade killed eight classmates and a security guard before being arrested.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, expressed her shock at the tragedy. “Every child should feel safe at school and be able to learn free from fear and violence,” Kallas wrote on X. “My thoughts are with the victims, their families, and the Austrian people in this dark moment.”
Austria, a country of nearly 9.2 million people, is typically ranked among the safest in the world, according to the Global Peace Index. However, the recent spate of violent attacks in public spaces is causing concern across Europe, a region that has traditionally been insulated from such incidents.
Written By Rodney Mbua
