A shooter opened fire at a high school in the Austrian city of Graz, , killing nine people including teenagers.
Austria’s interior ministry confirmed the fatalities, telling CNN that the victims included children between 14 and 18 years old. The perpetrator is also dead and the school has been secured, the ministry and Austrian police said.
Officers first responded to the reports of “several” suspected gunshots at the Bundesoberstufenrealgymnasium Dreierschützengasse school in the northwest of the city at around 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. ET).
Several vehicles and a police helicopter were deployed to the site. The school was evacuated and the area was secured, with no further danger expected, the police said on social media.
Graz Mayor Elke Kahr says the gunman is among the dead. He is thought to have been a student and police say he probably took his own life. Elke Kahr has spoken of a terrible tragedy.
A police operation was under way at the BORG high school on Dreierschuetzengasse street on Tuesday morning.
Graz Police spokesperson Sabri Yorgun said special Cobra units were among those sent to the high school after a call was received at 10 am, and that authorities were working to gain an overview of what had happened.
