School shooting in Graz: tragedy at school leaves 11 dead!

School shooting in Graz: tragedy at school leaves 11 dead!

On June 10, 2025, a tragic shooting occurred at the BORG school on Dreierschützengasse in Graz, Austria. A 21-year-old former student broke into the school building and opened fire. The police and rescue workers were immediately alerted after shots and screams were reported from the building. The first emergency services arrived at the scene shortly after 10 a.m., while the EKO Cobra was on site at 10:08 a.m. and sent six emergency services into the building for the safety of those present, reports Krone.at.

The perpetrator, who was in possession of a firearms license, shot open several doors to the classrooms with a shotgun and then used a handgun. Before committing suicide in a school bathroom, he sent his mother a video revealing his plans. A total of nine young people and a teacher died during the rampage; The dead are mostly Austrians, with the exception of one young person with Polish citizenship. The Interior Minister and Federal Chancellor commented on the tragedy and announced national mourning, while funeral masses were held for the victims in numerous churches, such as Merkur.de reported.

The consequences of the tragedy

The police confirmed that the perpetrator acted alone and that there were no other dangers to the surrounding area. At least 30 people were injured, including two adults and five teenagers who are in critical condition. Six patients are currently being treated at the LKH University Hospital, four of them in the intensive care unit and two in the normal ward. At UKH Graz, four other patients are in stable condition, but follow-up operations are necessary, according to information from Krone.at emerges.

At 10 a.m. the following day, June 11th, a minute's mourning was held across Austria. Churches rang mourning bells while the ORF program was interrupted and public transport stopped for a minute. This gesture illustrated the national shock and sadness over what happened.

Social debate about gun laws and prevention

The incident also raises questions about gun legislation in Austria, especially since the perpetrator was in possession of a weapon despite psychological examinations. According to reports, it is suspected that the perpetrator had experiences of bullying during his school years. This highlights the issue of violence and bullying in schools, which has been intensively researched in recent years. At the University of Vienna, for example, studies are being carried out on violence, aggression and social relationships in multicultural school classes schulpsychologie.at describes.

The results of this research are central to the development of prevention and intervention programs aimed at reducing violence in schools. The self-evaluation tool AVEO 2.0, which was further developed in 2021-2022, serves as a basis for decision-making for prevention measures and supports teacher teams in self-reflection.

In view of the events in Graz, a comprehensive discussion about security measures in educational institutions and support for students is becoming increasingly urgent. It is hoped that important lessons will be learned from this tragedy to prevent future violence in schools.