CNN
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Austrian police were seeking clues Wednesday after a gunman fired a day ago at a former high school.
Many shocked people gathered near the crime scene and observed a minute of silence 24 hours after the rampage in Glaz city, lamenting the victims of the worst school shooting in the country’s history.
Authorities confirmed they searched the home of a 21-year-old Austrian citizen who attacked Dreierschutzgas Secondary School in the city of Styria, the capital of the southern Austrian province of Styria.
Graz police spokesman Sabri Yorgun told CNN that officers discovered a non-functioning makeshift bomb, suicide notes and video messages at the shooter’s home.
“We performed a search operation at the suspect’s home address in the Glaz area, and were able to establish that there are suicide notes in both digital and handed formats via video messages.”
Of the 10 people who died in the shootings, nine were students between the ages of 15 and 17, officials said. One of them was found dead outside the school when officers arrived Tuesday morning. The bodies of other students and several other injured children were found inside the building.
The 10th victim who died in the hospital on Tuesday night was a female school teacher, Yorgan confirmed.
According to French Foreign Minister Jean Noel Barlott, one of the victims was a French student. “Our thoughts and sad dol’s opinions are directed at his family and friends,” Barott said.
CNN understands that all those injured in Tuesday’s attack are currently in stable condition, including nine people remaining in intensive care.
One victim with a facial injury requires follow-up surgery, while another victim requires knee surgery.
Officers first responded to reports of suspected gunshots at a school in the northwest of Glaz on Tuesday at 10am (4am ET). Several vehicles and police helicopters were subsequently deployed to the site.
The suspect, who had previously attended school but had not graduated, killed him using a rifle and handgun.
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.