CNN
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A shooter fired fire at a high school in Glaz, Austria, authorities said Tuesday.
Austrian police confirmed the deaths and raised the death toll from previous figures of eight. The country’s Home Affairs Ministry told CNN that the victims include children between the ages of 14 and 18. The perpetrators have also died and schools have been secured, authorities added.
Several more people have been seriously injured, police said.
Officers first responded to reports of suspected “several” gunshots at the Bundesoberstufenrealgymnasium Drierschüt Zengasse School, northwest of Glaz, at about 10am local time (4am ET).
Several vehicles and police helicopters have been deployed to the site. The school was evacuated, the area was secured and no further risk was expected, police said on social media.
Austrian Prime Minister Christian Stocker expressed his fear in the shooting, writing about X: “The rampage at Glaz schools is a tragedy of the people that deeply shaken our entire country.
“There are no words for pain and sadness,” he added.
“It’s difficult to endure when schools become places of death and violence,” said Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission.
Gun violence is rare in Austria, along with most Central European countries. Compared to 4.5 per 100,000 people in the US, the country’s firearm homicide rate was just 0.1 per 100,000 people in 2021, according to the Health Indicators and Assessment Institute.
However, Austria’s gun ownership is higher than most European Union countries. There are 30 civilian firearms owned by every 100 people, according to the Small Arms Survey, a Swiss-based laboratory.
In recent years, a small number of famous violent incidents have been occurring. Last October, the mayor of a town in northern Austria was shot dead along with another victim.
In February, a 23-year-old man stabbed five passersby in southern Austria, police said it was a random attack.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
