What started as an ordinary school day in Graz, Austria, quickly spiraled into horror as a former student stormed into BORG Dreierschuetzengasse high school and opened fire.
Within moments, the school was thrown into panic as students scrambled for safety, some hiding under desks while others ran for their lives.
Gunfire echoed through the halls just before 10 a.m., sending shockwaves through the community.
The sudden violence left ten people dead and 28 others injured, shaking the entire nation to its core.
Terrified Students Flee Amid Gunfire
Footage now circulating online captures the sheer panic.
In one clip, students can be seen huddled in classrooms, flinching at the sound of shots.
In another, they dash down staircases and through hallways, some clutching each other tightly as heavily armed police escort them out.
One particularly harrowing video shows injured victims lying on stretchers, some covered in white sheets, while paramedics work frantically.
A helicopter hovers overhead in another scene, rushing one of the wounded to hospital.
The Shooter: A Former Student With a Painful Past
According to local reports, the gunman was a 22-year-old man who once attended the same high school.
Authorities believe he was bullied during his time there.
On this devastating morning, he targeted two classrooms before reportedly taking his own life in a school bathroom.
Police confirmed that the shooter was among the deceased, and that the school had been fully secured.
The Cobra tactical unit, Austria’s elite force for critical incidents, responded quickly to the scene.
Emergency Response in Full Force
The scale of the response was enormous.
Around 158 paramedics, 65 emergency vehicles, and 31 crisis intervention staff arrived within minutes.
Survivors were guided to safety and many injured students were taken to the nearby Helmut List Hall for medical care.
Parents and children were later reunited at the ASKÖ Hall, where crisis counselors were also deployed.
National Leaders Express Their Grief
The Austrian Chancellor, Christian Stocker, canceled all his appointments in response to the tragedy.
In a statement, he described the shooting as a “national tragedy” that shattered the lives of young people full of promise.
“What happened today affects us all — as people, as parents, as a society,” he said.
“A school should be a place of safety and hope.”
Mayor Elke Kahr also expressed sorrow, noting that emergency services were working with extreme caution.
She confirmed that family reunifications and trauma support were already underway.
Reactions Beyond Austria
European leaders also responded with empathy and shock.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas shared her reaction on X (formerly Twitter), saying she was “deeply shocked” and emphasized that “every child should feel safe at school and be able to learn free from fear and violence.”
The tragedy resonates particularly strongly in Graz, a city of over 300,000 people in southeastern Austria.
Many residents remember the horrific 2015 rampage that left three dead — an incident eerily echoed by today’s events.
A Rare But Alarming Tragedy
Austria, known for its safety and calm, is ranked among the ten most peaceful countries in the world.
Events like this are almost unheard of.
School shootings in Europe, while much less common than in the U.S., have become more visible in recent years.
Still, this kind of violence continues to be a horrifying outlier.
What Happens Next?
With the gunman dead and the immediate danger over, investigators are now piecing together what led to the attack.
Support for survivors, families, and the wider school community is already in motion.
The focus now turns to healing, reflection, and ensuring schools remain the safe spaces they’re meant to be.
Authorities have promised a full investigation, and Austria — a nation not used to such tragedies — begins the difficult journey of mourning and recovery.