OAN Staff Abril Elfi
11:22 AM – Tuesday, June 10, 2025
Eleven people have died, including the suspect, during a school shooting in Austria. According to Austrian officials, the shooting was carried out by a 21-year-old former student.
Gun control is much stricter in Austria than in the United States, according to the European Firearms Directive and the Pew Research Center, leading American conservatives to argue that this tragic incident is an example of why extremist gun laws do not inhibit deaths, but rather, chip away at citizens’ Second Amendment rights.
Officials stated that the suspect used two separate weapons to open fire at students at the BORG Dreierschützengasse high school in Graz, before taking his own life inside a school bathroom.
“Today is a dark day in the history of our country,” Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker told reporters in Graz.
The city’s mayor, Elke Kahr, described the events as a “terrible tragedy,” and said there would be three days of national mourning, with the Austrian flag lowered to half-staff at official buildings. A national minute of silence will also be held on Wednesday morning in memory of the victims.
Interior Minister Gerhard Karner noted that six of the deceased were female and three were male, marking nine victims dead—in addition to the gunman. He also stated that 12 people were injured.
The death toll rose to 11 dead after one victim, who was among the injured, passed away in the hospital.
“A woman has died from her injuries in a hospital,” AFP news agency reported.
Residents of Graz are now gathering together, following calls from the Austrian Red Cross to “donate blood at a donation centre [center].”
The Red Cross has reportedly opened a blood donation center at a hotel in the city, while football club Sturm Graz has similarly opened another donation point at its training center.
“All we can do is try to make a small contribution,” the club’s managing business director Thomas Tebbich says. “That’s why SK Sturm invites you to donate blood at the Messendorf training center. Come and donate blood, it saves lives.”
Meanwhile, European Union spokesperson Paula Pinho has stated that “we would like to offer our deepest condolences to the families of the victims and the entire city of Graz in Austria. And we stand together in mourning while we seek clarity in the wake of this horrible event in a school.”
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