'Horror beyond words’: Ex-student slaughters ten in Austrian school rampage before turning gun on himself

Police say the 21-year-old gunman used two firearms to carry out the deadly attack at a secondary school in the city of Graz at around 10am on Tuesday.

Ten people were killed by the attacker in the shooting spree, with a further 12 people injured.

One person, an adult, died in hospital hours after the attack, and another adult is in life-threatening condition, according to Universitatsklinkum Graz Hospital.

Harrowing footage of the horrific assault posted on social media shows students running and fleeing from the school as armed police swarm the corridors.

In another video showing the exterior of the school, multiple gunshots can be heard, followed by loud screaming.

The shooter, a local from the Graz area, died by suicide in one of the school's bathrooms shortly after carrying out the attack, police said.

Speaking from the scene this afternoon, officers told reporters they secured the area within 17 minutes of their arrival at the school and immediately seized the two firearms.

Austria's Interior Minister Gerhard Karner also revealed the gunman was a former student at the school but did not graduate.

He was not known to the authorities before Tuesday's attack, police said, and had legally owned the two firearms with an official firearms licence.

Mr Wiederkehr added that Tuesday's attack "could not be described in words" and confirmed that the school would remain closed until further notice.

President Alexander Van der Bellen also described what happened as a "horror that cannot be put into words."

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Special forces were among those sent to the BORG Dreierschutzengasse high school after a call at 10am local time.

At 11.30am local time (10.30am BST), police wrote on social network X that the school had been evacuated and everyone had been taken to a safe meeting point.

They wrote that the situation was "secured" and there is no longer believed to be any danger.

Police deployed in large numbers, with police and other emergency vehicles guarding the area around the school and with at least one police helicopter flying above the area, according to photos published by the regional newspaper Kleine Zeitung.

'Austria is in mourning'

In a statement he said: "This horror cannot be put into words. What happened today in a school in Graz strikes at the heart of our country.

"These were young people who had their whole lives ahead of them. A teacher who accompanied them on their journey.

"There is nothing that can ease the pain felt by the parents, grandparents, siblings, and friends of the murdered victims at this moment.

"Austria is in mourning. And in this hour, we stand together. We stand together to bear the pain together. We stand together to be there for all those who are hurting.

"Today, and in the difficult days to come, our country will show that our strength lies in this togetherness."

Where is Graz?

Graz, Austria's second-biggest city, is located in the south-east of the country and has about 300,000 inhabitants.

Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner was on his way to Graz.

In Brussels, European Union spokesperson Paula Pinho said: "We would like to offer our deepest condolences to the families of the victims and the entire city of Graz in Austria. And we stand together in mourning while we seek clarity in the wake of this horrible event in a school."