A shooter who launched a murderous rampage at a school in Austria has been identified by police as a drop-out former student.
The 21-year-old suspect opened fire on students and staff at the BORG Dreierschuetzengasse high school in Graz, killing nine and injuring 28.
Armed with a shotgun and pistol, the attacker burst into two classrooms and shot in circles to inflict maximum damage, according to reports.
The massacre only ended when the gunman, who local media said had been the victim of bullying during his time at the school, shot himself dead in a toilet.
Police confirmed that he entered the premises with two weapons and said he had a license for both.
The man, who has not yet been named by authorities, was not previously known to police.
A mother of one of the pupils who survived the massacre told how he called her from inside the school as the killing unfolded.
‘My son called me to say he was in school and that he was being shot and that he thought he was going to die,’ she said. ‘I’ve only found out now, two hours later, that he’s still alive.’
Interior minister Gerhard Karner confirmed the shooter was a former pupil who didn’t finish school, adding that ‘anything else is still speculation.’
Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker declared three days of national mourning in the wake of the bloody attack, saying that it marked ‘a dark day in the history of our country.’
Horrifying footage shows how gunshots rang out through the school as students desperately tried to hide.
Terror-stricken pupils filmed the moment they fled their classrooms, running through the hallways as heavily armed cops descended on the building.
Another disturbing video shows victims lined up on stretchers while dozens of paramedics tend to them. Some are covered by white sheets.
In a separate video, an injured patient lying motionlessly on a stretcher can be seen being carried into a helicopter by paramedics.
The school remains closed until further notice.
Special forces descended on the high school shortly before 10am local time after reports of gunshots.
Cops confirmed that the campus had been safely evacuated and that there was no further danger.
Some 158 paramedics were at the scene today, while another 31 crisis intervention staff and 65 emergency vehicles were operating.
Students who managed to escape the violent rampage were reunited with their parents, while those injured were taken to nearby Helmut List hall – an events venue close to the school – to receive treatment.
A disaster alert was in place today in local hospitals.
Police evacuated the building this morning and deployed their specialist Cobra tactical unit, which handles attacks and hostage situations.
Newspaper Krone spoke to a teacher at the school who described being barricaded inside a classroom with students after hearing gunshots.
The Austrian government has also reacted to the shooting, with Chancellor Christian Stocker cancelling his appointments for the day.
Commenting on the tragedy, he said: ‘The school shooting in Graz is a national tragedy that has deeply shaken our entire country.
‘This incomprehensible act suddenly tore young people from the lives they still had ahead of them.’
‘What happened today affects us all – as people, as parents, as a society.
‘A school is a place of trust, security, and hope.’
The interior and education ministers are understood to be on their way to Graz.
Mayor Kahr called the incident ‘a terrible tragedy’.
‘All emergency organisations are acting with caution.
‘Some of the children and teachers have since been taken to the Helmut List Hall in Graz. Family reunifications are taking place in the ASKÖ Hall. Crisis intervention team members are on duty,’ she added.
EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas declared herself ‘deeply shocked’ by reports of the shooting.
‘Every child should feel safe at school and be able to learn free from fear and violence,’ Kallas posted on X.
‘My thoughts are with the victims, their families and the Austrian people in this dark moment.’
School shootings are much more rare in Europe than in the United States but in recent years Europe has been shaken by attacks at schools and universities, that were not connected to terrorism.
Graz is the second largest city in Austria with a and is located in the southeast of the country.
The crime occurred shortly before the tenth anniversary of the Graz rampage on June 20, 2015, which left three people dead and which many Graz residents still remember today.
Attacks in public are rare in the Alpine nation of almost 9.2 million people. It ranks among the ten safest countries in the world, according to the Global Peace Index.