America News Agency

Prime Minister Christian Stocker said in a press conference that this was a dark day in the country’s history.

The police were alerted to a shooting at a primary school in Graz shortly before 10 a.m. on Tuesday. A large operation involving police and rescue services was dispatched to the scene.

The police confirmed that eleven people were killed at the school, including the suspected gunman who committed suicide in the school restroom.

Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said in a press conference that there were no other suspects, stating: “I can confirm that the perpetrator acted alone.”

According to the police, the school building was secured 17 minutes after the emergency teams arrived. Teachers and students were quickly evacuated to the Helmut-List-Halle event center, where they were attended to by Red Cross crisis teams.

According to the Kronen Zeitung newspaper, twelve injured individuals were taken to nearby hospitals. The Red Cross stated that nine were seriously injured and two were in critical condition.

National Police Chief Gerald Ortner said the suspected shooter was a 21-year-old man from Graz who had previously attended the school but never graduated.

The police reported that the two handguns used had been purchased legally and that the suspect had not been previously known to the authorities.

The police said they did not want to speculate on the motive but stated that it would be investigated.

Located in the southeast of the country, Graz is the capital of the state of Styria and Austria’s second-largest city, with a population of approximately 300,000.

The city lies on the southern side of the Alps along the Mur River.

Graz is a major university city. Its historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city’s history dates back to Roman times.