8 people and suspected gunman reported dead in a shooting at a school in the Austrian city of Graz

VIENNA (AP) — Eight people were killed in a shooting at a school in the Austrian city of Graz on Tuesday, and the suspected perpetrator also died, the city’s mayor said.

Mayor Elke Kahr described the events as a “terrible tragedy,” the Austria Press Agency reported. It added that the fatalities were seven students and one adult. Kahr said that many people were taken to hospitals with injuries.

Special forces were among those sent to the BORG Dreierschützengasse high school after a call at 10 a.m. At 11.30 a.m., police wrote on social network X that the school had been evacuated and everyone had been taken to a safe meeting point. They wrote that the situation was “secured” and there is no longer believed to be any danger.

Graz, Austria's second-biggest city, is located in the southeast of the country and has about 300,000 inhabitants.