The Austrian shooter who killed 10 people on a rampage at his former school has been pictured for the first time. A photo of the 21-year-old has emerged of him posing in a selfie with his cat. The man lived near Graz and hadn’t completed his studies at the city’s BORG Dreierschützengasse high school. Police said he used two weapons, a shotgun and a pistol, which he owned legally.
His picture emerged as police confirmed a suicide note and a pipe bomb, which officers said wouldn’t have worked, were found when detectives searched the home of the shooter, who shot himself in one of the school’s toilets after the horrific rampage. A senior official said the letter was found on Tuesday night but it hadn’t suggested a motive. The suspect had no police record and is believed to have owned the weapons legally. At the time of writing, the shooter’s name has not been released by the authorities.
Police said nine students were killed in the attack – six girls and three boys aged between 14 and 17. A teacher also died while another 11 people were wounded.
Franz Ruf, Public Security Director at Austria’s Interior Ministry, told ORF public television: “A farewell letter in analog and digital form was found. He says goodbye to his parents. But no motive can be inferred from the farewell letter, and that is a matter for further investigations.”
Asked if the assailant had attacked victims randomly or had targeted them, Mr Ruf said that is also under investigation and he didn’t want to speculate. He said wounded people were found on various levels of the school and in one case in front of the building.
Special forces were among those sent to the high school after police were called at 10am local time (9amBST) to reports of shots being fired.
More than 300 police officers were sent to the school, which was evacuated. Footage showed students quickly filing out past armed officers. Police said security was restored in 17 minutes.
Austria’s Red Cross said it deployed 65 ambulances to the scene and 158 emergency staffers were helping treat the injured.
Forty specially trained psychologists were counselling students and parents. The Red Cross also called on locals to come forward to donate blood.
Austria declared three days of national mourning after what appeared to be the country’s deadliest attack since the Second World War.
The country stopped to observe a minute’s silence at 10am on Wednesday (June 11), marking the moment when police were alerted to shots at the school. In the capital, Vienna, the local transport authority stopped trams, subway trains and buses for a minute.
Hundreds of people lined the main square in Graz, Austria’s second-biggest city. Some laid more candles and flowers in front of the city hall, adding to a growing memorial to the victims.
Among those on the square Wednesday was Chiara Komlenic, 28, who finished her exams at the school.
She said: “I always felt very protected there. The teachers were also very supportive. I made lifelong friendships there.
“It just hurts to see that young girls and boys will never come back, that they experienced the worst day of their lives where I had the best time of my life. I still know a few teachers. It just hurts a lot.”
University student, Fabian Enzi, 22, said: “Graz is the second-largest city in Austria, but we still say that Graz is a village. Every time you are out you meet people you know. There is a high chance that with such an attack you know people [who] are affected. There are a lot of desperate faces.”
By Wednesday morning, the authority running hospitals in Graz said all patients were in stable conditions. Nine were still in intensive care units, with one needing a further operation on a facial wound and a second on a knee injury. Another two had been moved to regular wards.
Police said none of their lives were in danger and the wounded were aged between 15 and 26. Two are Romanian nationals and one is an Iranian citizen.
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