Shots During Graduation: New Details on the Rampage in Graz

Following the shooting spree of a 21-year-old in his former school in Graz, which resulted in ten fatalities, more details about the incident are becoming known. According to the Styrian Education Directorate, oral Matura exams were taking place at the high school on Tuesday.

Shots Fired in Graz High School During Matura Exams

The armed perpetrator stormed the school on Tuesday morning - during the ongoing oral Matura exam week - with a shotgun and a pistol. After the first emergency calls around 10:00 a.m. "due to shots and screams," as reported on Tuesday, the first patrols with heavy protective gear arrived at the high school just six minutes later, followed a minute later by the Rapid Intervention Group (SIG), the Task Force for Combating Street Crime (EGS) of the State Criminal Police Office, and 54 heavily armed officers of the Cobra unit.

As the commander of the Cobra South unit, Kurt Kornberger, explained to the APA in a background discussion early in the afternoon, the special unit officers were already in the building by 10:08 or 10:09 a.m., but had not heard any more shots by that time. After contacting a teacher in the foyer, the officers rushed to the third floor, where they first encountered numerous injured and dead in a classroom and at 10:13 a.m. found the 21-year-old dead from suicide in a restroom. Four minutes later, the Cobra team was able to secure the area for the rescue teams, who arrived at the school shortly thereafter. By 10:28, the entire building had ultimately been cleared.

As the commander of the Cobra South unit, Kurt Kornberger, explained to the APA in a background discussion early in the afternoon, the special unit officers were already in the building by 10:08 or 10:09 a.m., but had not heard any more shots by that time. After contacting a teacher in the foyer, the officers rushed to the third floor, where they first encountered numerous injured and dead in a classroom and at 10:13 a.m. found the 21-year-old dead from suicide in a restroom. Four minutes later, the Cobra team was able to secure the area for the rescue teams, who arrived at the school shortly thereafter. By 10:28, the entire building had ultimately been cleared.

"Students whose exams were interrupted or suspended can decide for themselves whether they want to take a replacement exam before the summer or wait until the fall to take their exams," the Education Directorate explained in response to an APA inquiry. However, none of the fatalities or injured in the shooting spree were students taking the Matura exams.

21-Year-Old Lived with Single Mother

Media reports that the 21-year-old was allegedly bullied in the past could not be confirmed by the state police directorate on Wednesday either. Details about the 21-year-old's school career also remained unclear upon request, and reports about the 21-year-old's AMS status were not confirmed by the police either.

According to the police, the only confirmed fact is that the 21-year-old resided with his single mother in the Graz area. His father, who is from Armenia, no longer lived in the household after the separation.

Crime Reconstruction in School Underway

"A crime reconstruction is currently underway in the school," police spokesman Sabri Yorgun said on Wednesday morning. The investigators hope to gain further insights from this. Regarding the number of shots fired and the locations of the shooting within the building, Yorgun referred to the ongoing reconstruction. Several hundred people need to be questioned in this context. The evaluation of evidence and data carriers could continue over the next days and weeks.

(APA/Red)

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