Karner Calls for Consequences After Graz Rampage

Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) considers legislative reactions absolutely necessary following the rampage at a school in Graz. "After such a horrific act, we cannot and will not return to business as usual. There must be consequences and changes," he said on Friday before the Council of Interior Ministers in Luxembourg. The fact that, for example, due to data protection, "the weapons authorities have no access to data from the recruitment authorities" is "unbearable and cannot remain so."

In addition to a possible tightening of the weapons law, it is also about measures for increased victim protection and school security. "Many areas will be discussed. It will be necessary to consider everything comprehensively." The State Criminal Police Office of Styria must be given time "to investigate all backgrounds, and it is important that these results are also included in the federal government's consultations. This is also why it was clear to me that I would participate in this meeting of interior ministers to also consult bilaterally with colleagues. All of this will be included. It is about necessary consequences that must be drawn," said Karner, who also wanted to "personally express my thanks" to his EU counterparts, from whom there have been many expressions of solidarity.

Talks with Other Countries

In Luxembourg, Karner also held bilateral talks with representatives of those countries where similar acts have occurred in the recent past. He had intensive exchanges with his counterparts, including from the Czech Republic, Vít Rakušan, France, Bruno Retailleau, and the responsible Justice Minister from Sweden, Gunnar Strömmer, according to the APA after the EU Council. The ministers discussed measures in the areas of weapons laws, police operational tactics, prevention measures, and data exchange between authorities.

In the small eastern French town of Nogant, a 14-year-old student stabbed an educational assistant during a bag check in front of his school on Tuesday. Such checks were ordered in February to combat knife violence in and around schools. Between the end of March and the end of May, 186 knives were confiscated, and 32 students were taken into police custody during approximately 6,000 bag checks. Since then, France's President Emmanuel Macron has been advocating for an EU-wide social media ban for children under 15 years old. He partly blames the influence of social media for violence among young people.

In the central Swedish city of Örebro, a 35-year-old committed the worst gun attack in Sweden's history at an educational center in February, killing ten people, injuring six others, and then committing suicide. The attacker had a hunting license and legally owned several hunting weapons. However, the police found no evidence that he ever used them for hunting. A debate about tightening the weapons laws also began in Sweden as a result.

14 Dead in Czech Republic

In Prague, in December 2023, a 24-year-old student shot 14 people in the main building of the Faculty of Philosophy and then committed suicide. Two years earlier, the government of then-Prime Minister Andrej Babis had enshrined the right to use and possess weapons in the constitution. After the rampage, gun laws were tightened. Confiscations of weapons were simplified. Additionally, psychiatrists are to be given access to the central weapons register to determine whether their patients possess firearms. All changes are to be implemented by 2026.

In the EU, there is a directive on minimum standards for gun laws. Whether these should be tightened, Austrian EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner did not want to commit to before the start of the meeting: "It is important to see what the investigations reveal - then the right conclusions must be drawn. Whether there will be a tightening at the European level, or whether the member states will exploit their national possibilities, we will see."

Demand from FPÖ

FPÖ General Secretary Christian Hafenecker demanded "immediate and complete clarification" from Interior Minister Karner: "For days, the public has been fed the narrative that the attacker lived completely withdrawn, was 'invisible' on social media, and therefore nothing could have been foreseen about his horrific act - these are pure 'fake news', as has now been revealed," criticized the National Council member. There is "the suspicion of a scandalous failure of the authorities."

(APA/Red)

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