A teenager with Polish citizenship has been confirmed among the victims of Tuesday’s school shooting in Graz, Austrian newspapers Kronen Zeitung and Die Presse reported. The gunman, identified by local media as 21-year-old Artur A., killed eleven people – including six female pupils, three male students and a teacher – before taking his own life in a school toilet. All of the other victims were Austrian nationals; the youngest was just 14.

The attacker, a former pupil of the school who never graduated, was armed with both a rifle and a handgun, believed to have been legally owned. 

According to police, he acted alone. His body, along with those of his victims, was found on multiple floors of the school building and just outside its entrance.

A farewell note addressed to his parents was discovered at his home, but it gave no clear motive. Authorities also found a deactivated pipe bomb on the premises. 

Although some Austrian media outlets suggest the perpetrator felt bullied during his school years, investigators have not confirmed these claims.

Described as the deadliest school shooting in Austrian history, the attack has plunged the country into mourning. 

Three days of national grief have been declared, flags have been lowered to half-mast, and a nationwide minute of silence was observed at 10 a.m. on Wednesday in tribute to the victims.

Source: PAP

Photo: @thenexgentimes

Tomasz Modrzejewski