Ten dead in Austria school shooting, police say

Ten people have been killed in a school shooting in the Austrian city of Graz, police have said.

The incident took place at Dreierschützengasse secondary school in the north-west of the city.

Police said the gunman was among the dead and Austria’s APA news agency has reported that seven of those killed were pupils.

A further 28 people are being treated for their injuries in hospital, according to local media reports.

Three days of mourning have been declared in Austria.

Flags on the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, where the President Alexander Van der Bellen has his office, will fly at half mast.

The attack “strikes our country right at its heart”, the Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker said.

“These were young people who had their whole lives ahead of them.”

Police said they began an operation at 10:00 local time (09:00 BST) after gunshots were heard from inside the school.

A specialist Cobra tactical unit – which handles attacks and hostage situations – was deployed to the school, police said.

Authorities evacuated all pupils and teachers from the building. Police confirmed the school had been secured and there was no further danger posed to members of the public.

“Locally, we have seen people crying on the streets, talking to friends that have been at the school when the shooting happened, who have maybe lost a friend,” said Fanny Gasser, a journalist for the Austrian daily newspaper Kronen Zeitung.

She told BBC News “everybody knows somebody” at the school because Graz – despite being the second-largest city in Austria – is “not that big”.

She said the school was likely unprepared for the possibility of an attack. “We are not living in America, we are living in Austria, which seems like a very safe space.”

Local mayor Elke Kahr called the incident a “terrible tragedy”.

European Commission Vice-President Kaja Kallas said she was “deeply shocked” by the news. “Every child should feel safe at school and be able to learn free from fear and violence,” she posted on X.