At least nine people have been killed and others injured in a shooting attack on a school in the Austrian city of Graz, its mayor has said.
Seven students and one adult were among the dead in Tuesday morning’s attack, and the gunman also died, Graz Mayor Elke Kahr told the Austrian Press Agency (APA), calling the incident a “terrible tragedy”.
Ms Kahr said that many people were taken to hospitals with injuries.
Kronen Zeitung newspaper said a suspect had reportedly been found dead in a bathroom, but that could not immediately be confirmed.
Austria’s Interior Ministry said there were several fatalities but did not say how many, while police said there were also injuries, without specifying a number.
Earlier APA, quoting Mayor Kahr, also said the shooter was among the dead.
Special forces were among those sent to the BORG Dreierschützengasse high school at 10am local time after reports of shots being heard.
At 11.30 am, police said on X that the school had been evacuated and everyone had been taken to a safe meeting point.
The situation was “secured”, they said and there was no longer believed to be any danger.
National broadcaster ORF said several people had been seriously injured, including students and teachers, after what it called a “shooting spree” in the city in southeastern Austria.
Police said several emergency services, a police helicopter and Cobra, a police tactical unit, have been deployed and they told parents to go to the ASKO Stadium, the home ground of local football club, ESK Graz, to meet their children.
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Gunfire and screaming could be heard on footage posted on X purporting to be from the scene, as well as an injured person being carried to a helicopter by paramedics while pictures showed armed officers at the scene.
Graz is Austria’s second-largest city, and has a population of around 300,000.
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