Graz, Austria Thousands of Austrians gathered in a poignant candlelight vigil on Tuesday night, transforming the city’s main square into a shimmering sea of flickering flames, as they mourned the ten lives lost in a horrific school shooting. The tragedy, which also left 12 injured, marks the deadliest such incident in the country’s recent history.
Police confirmed Wednesday that the 21-year-old suspect, identified as a former student of the Dreierschützengasse secondary school where the attack occurred, took his own life in a school bathroom shortly after the rampage. Authorities conducting a search of his home discovered a “farewell letter” and a non-functional pipe bomb. The gunman’s motive remains unconfirmed.
Six females and three males were initially killed in the assault, with a seventh female succumbing to her injuries later in hospital. As reported that seven of the deceased were pupils.
In a somber display of collective grief and solidarity, thousands of mostly young people converged on Graz’s main square, lighting candles and standing in quiet contemplation or prayer. They slowly approached the Johann fountain, a cherished landmark in the old town, to place their candles, transforming it into a poignant symbol of Austria’s sorrow.
“When you hear about it, you have so much sympathy for the people, maybe you could have known someone,” Felix Platzer, a vigil attendee, said. “This is an example of solidarity and you grieve together and together it is easier to cope.”
In response to the national tragedy, Austria has declared three days of mourning. A nationwide minute’s silence is scheduled for Wednesday at 10:00 AM local time to honor the victims. Flags on the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, the President’s office, will fly at half-mast. The affected school will remain closed indefinitely.
Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker described Tuesday as a “dark day in the history of our country,” declaring the shooting a “national tragedy.” He emphasised that a school is “more than just a place to learn it is a space for trust, for feeling comfortable and for having a future,”
a safe place that was “violated.” “In these difficult hours, being human is our strongest point,” Stocker added, acknowledging the attack “strikes our country right at its heart” and claimed the lives of “young people who had their whole lives ahead of them.”
Interior Minister Gerhard Karner confirmed that the gunman was a former student who did not graduate from Dreierschützengasse.
Investigators are now tasked with determining the full circumstances of the attack. Police stated that the gunman was not previously known to law enforcement and legally owned the two firearms a pistol and a shotgun, according to local media used in the attack, possessing a valid firearms license. He was identified as an Austrian man from the wider Graz region who acted alone.
The operation began at 10:00 AM local time after reports of gunshots inside the school. A specialist Cobra tactical unit was deployed, and all pupils and teachers were safely evacuated. Police later confirmed the school was secured and there was no ongoing public danger.
Fanny Gasser, a journalist for the Austrian daily Kronen Zeitung, described the immediate aftermath in Graz, noting “people crying on the streets, talking to friends that have been at the school when the shooting happened, who have maybe lost a friend.” She highlighted the close-knit nature of Graz, Austria’s second-largest city, where “everybody knows somebody” at the school. Gasser emphasised that such an event was unexpected, stating, “We are not living in America, we are living in Austria, which seems like a very safe space.”
Graz Mayor Elke Kahr called the incident a “terrible tragedy.” European Commission Vice-President Kaja Kallas expressed her deep shock on X, asserting, “Every child should feel safe at school and be able to learn free from fear and violence.”
Witnesses recounted the terrifying moments. Astrid, who lives next to the school, said she heard “30 to 40 shots” after finishing her washing. She and her husband Franz saw a student at a window seemingly preparing to jump before retreating, and later observed students evacuating from the ground floor.
In a powerful display of community support, long queues formed outside a blood donation center in Graz on Tuesday afternoon. “Today is a hard day for all of us in Graz. I’m here to donate my blood to help other people who need it,” said 25-year-old Stephanie Koenig. Johanna, 30, shared similar sentiments, stating, “Today I’m here because I wanted to do something. I felt helpless with the news.” Another donor felt it was the “only way possible to help.”
This incident surpasses the 2020 Vienna attack where a jihadist gunman killed four and wounded 23, and a 2016 concert shooting in Nenzing that left two dead and eleven injured, in terms of fatalities from a mass shooting in recent Austrian history.
Erizia Rubyjeana
Follow us on:
