At least 11 people were killed and several others were injured in a school shooting Tuesday in the southern Austrian city of Graz.
A spokesperson for Graz Regional Hospital told NBC News that 11 people had died following the incident at the BORG Dreierschützengasse school, a secondary school in the northwest of the city. Police said the suspected perpetrator was among the dead.
Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said at a news conference Tuesday that nine lives were "taken from us, including six females and three males." He added that 12 people were injured. Graz Regional Hospital said a woman who was wounded later died of her injuries.
Police added that they had identified the suspect as a 21-year-old man from Graz, adding that he appeared to have died in the bathroom by suicide.
The shooter used two guns that were recovered from the school, police said, adding that there was only one suspect.
Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker said Tuesday that the shooting marked “a dark day” in the country’s history.
“My thoughts, considerations and deepest sympathies with the people who have suffered a loss ... in this terrible, horrible event,” Stocker said.
He added that the next three days would be a period of mourning during which Austria would pay its respects to the victims, holding a minute of silence Wednesday and flying the flag at half-staff at all public buildings.
“Solving conflict through violence should never be a part of our lives,” Stocker said, adding, “Our schools have to remain spaces of peace, where our children can learn and grow without any danger.”
Styrian State Police Director Gerald Ortner said Tuesday that police received emergency calls from the location of the incident around 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. E.T.) and arrived within a few minutes. A special task force and an ambulance were also there, he added.
Earlier in the day, Austrian police confirmed the incident was no longer active in a series of posts on X after they carried out an operation at the school.
Ortner said that more than 300 police officers were deployed to ensure an evacuation and that the school was cordoned off after several emergency services and tactical units and a helicopter were deployed to the area.
An investigation with the State Crime Office of Styria, where Graz is located, continues, police said, adding that they had established a crisis intervention team to help the victims.
The victims were taken to the nearby Helmut List Hall events space for emergency care before they were transferred to a hospital. A meeting point was set up for the students’ parents at the ASKÖ football stadium, police said on X.
While Graz is Austria's second-largest city, it is still relatively small compared with major U.S. cities, with a population of around 300,000.
In a statement Tuesday, police asked the public to “stay away from the area” and to “strictly follow the instructions of the emergency services.” They added that they had set up a platform for tips or other observations.
In a statement on X, Austrian President Alexander van der Bellen said “there is nothing that can ease the pain at the moment, which the parents, the grandparents, the siblings, the friends of those killed are feeling.”
“These were adolescents, who had their whole life ahead of them,” he said. “This horror cannot be put into words.”