Multiple people have been killed in an attack on a school in the southern Austrian city of Graz, according to authorities.
Police said that there had been “several deaths” after an operation was launched after reports of gunshots in Dreierschützengasse street. The operation began at 10 a.m. local time (0800 UTC).
Police said in a later statement that the school had been succesfully evacuated.
“The situation is secure,” police said. “No further danger is expected.”
Austrian media reported that nine people were killed in the shooting, including the suspected gunman. Among the dead were one adult and eight children.
Several people were also reportedly injured.
The ORF public broadcaster cited police as saying that both students and teachers were among the casualties. It said that the suspected shooter was thought to be have been a student at the school.
Graz Mayor Elke Kahr, quoted by Austrian news agency APA, said many injured had also been taken to hospital following the shooting, which she called a “terrible tragedy”.
The reports did not specify how many of the dead were pupils. Ambulances were on the scene outside the school.
A local police spokesman said the area had been secured. People had been evacuated from the school and relatives of the victims and pupils were being cared for, he said.
“There is no further danger for the population, but there are several dead,” he told Austrian television.
Kronen Zeitung said a suspect had been found dead in a bathroom.
Austria has one of the most heavily armed civilian populations in Europe, with an estimated 30 firearms per 100 persons, according to the Small Arms Survey, an independent research project.
Machine guns and pump action guns are banned, while the ownership of revolvers, pistols and semi-automatic weapons are allowed only with official authorization. Rifles and shotguns are permitted with a firearms license or a valid hunting licence, or for members of traditional shooting clubs.
