AMOSLauf in Graz: Teacher describes traumatic encounter with the perpetrator

AMOSLauf in Graz: Teacher describes traumatic encounter with the perpetrator

Graz, Österreich - On June 11, 2025, a shocking killing spree occurred at a school in Graz, in which a 21-year-old ex-student opened the fire and killed ten people. The use of weapons, including a shotgun and a bell pistol, led to a traumatic experience for those present. Paul Nitsche, an Evangelical religion teacher at Borg Dreierschützengasse, was in an empty class at that time, since the students had no lessons. Nitsche heard the shots and decided to leave the staircase where he was unexpectedly opposed to the perpetrator.

Nitsche describes the moment of meeting as surreal and stressful. He saw the perpetrator tried to shoot a door lock. "This moment will accompany me for a while," he says, while processing the serious emotions that this day triggered. Although Nitsche is a trained emergency pastor, he realizes that even professional preparation in such extreme exceptional situations reaches its limits. In order to maintain emotional support, he plans to cope with the situation together with colleagues, students and school psychologists.

meaning of the cohesion

In the debriefing of the traumatic event, the focus in the discussions of those affected was less on the perpetrator, who was not known to Nitsche, but rather on the worries and needs of the injured. Nitsche emphasizes the importance of cohesion within the community in this difficult time. "We have to take small steps in coping with grief," he says, comparing the current tragedy with an earlier one that occurred in Graz in 2015, in which a driver killed several people. "It is crucial that we stand together as a community," he continues.

In response to the events, schools in Vorarlberg organized a minute's commemoration in order to commemorate the victims of violence and terror and to set an example against violence. This campaign aimed to strengthen the unity and cohesion across different religions and parties. It is an important sign in times when society has to react to such tragic incidents and in which the discussion about security and violence prevention is more current than ever