Matura after Graz shooting: Fewer exams for high school students!

Matura after Graz shooting: Fewer exams for high school students!

After the tragic rampage in Graz, in which a former student of the Dreierschützengasse high school murdered nine students and a teacher, the National Council passed an important exception. Upper secondary school students now have the opportunity to take the Matura without the oral test. This decision was taken unanimously to accommodate those affected and to facilitate the examinations under the circumstances. Applications for exemption from the oral examinations must be submitted by the end of August. For anyone who would still like to take part in the oral examinations, the regular examination route remains open; they can be taken either before the summer holidays or in the first additional date in the autumn, like Kleine Newspaper reports.

The rampage occurred during the oral exams, with the perpetrator being located by police 13 minutes after the first emergency calls. When he was arrested, the police found an inoperable pipe bomb and attack plans at the perpetrator's residence. The emergency services were at the scene six minutes after the first emergency calls and could not hear any further shots. The perpetrator finally committed suicide in a toilet facility at 10:13 a.m. The investigation shows that there were no high school students among the fatalities; Those killed were students aged 14 to 17 and a teacher. The injured, aged between 15 and 26, are in stable condition, with the exception of two Romanians and another person from Iran, as SN reported.

Responses and crisis intervention

The Red Cross has activated crisis intervention teams to support those affected. In addition, special consultation hours were set up in child and adolescent psychiatry to offer support to affected young people and their parents. The responsibility for the prevention, intervention and aftercare of emergencies in schools lies with the school management. In Germany, for example, school psychology services have already developed systematic planning for school emergencies, which could also serve as a role model in schools in Austria. These measures are of great importance because they help to guarantee psychosocial emergency care in schools, as explained on Schulpsychologie.de.

Authorities and schools now face the challenge of addressing the psychological consequences of this terrible act. Student safety and well-being must be the top priority during this difficult time. In addition, copycat criminals have already emerged in connection with the incident, further increasing the authorities' alert status. In this context, comprehensive reconstructions of the crime are currently taking place at the school, while at the same time several hundred people are being interviewed in order to obtain a complete picture of what happened.