Discarded plans for a bomb attack were found at the home of the suspected perpetrator of a deadly school shooting in the Austrian city of Graz, local police said on Wednesday.
Police said earlier that they had found a non-functioning pipe bomb during a search of the 21-year-old’s home.
On Tuesday, a gunman opened fire at a secondary school in Graz before taking his own life, leaving a total of 11 people dead.
Two weapons were found at the scene. The suspect’s farewell messages did not reveal a motive.
The police also updated their information on the victims of the shooting.
According to the latest reports, six girls and three boys aged between 14 and 17 died at the scene.
Police had initially reported that the victims were aged between 15 and 17.
A seriously injured teacher died in hospital from her injuries.
One of the dead was a Polish national, the others were Austrian citizens.
Eleven injured people, aged between 15 and 26, are still being treated in hospital, police said.
Tearful families have since been consoling each other near the Dreierschützengasse high school, Graz, Austria where the incident took place at around 10:00 local time.
At a press conference a few hours ago, Austria’s Chancellor Christian Stocker declared today “a dark day in [the] history of our country” – it could be the deadliest in Austria’s post-war history, our Europe reporter writes.
A period of national mourning will begin tomorrow for three days, with a nationwide minute of silence starting at 10:00 local time.
We’re closing our live coverage for now, but we’ll be keeping our news story updated with any developments.
Residents of Graz are heeding the calls of the Austrian Red Cross and donating blood at a donation centre.
The Red Cross has opened a centre at a hotel in the city, while football club Sturm Graz has also opened a donation point at its training centre.
“All we can do is try to make a small contribution,” the club’s managing business director Thomas Tebbich says.
“That’s why SK Sturm invites you to donate blood at the Messendorf training center. Come and donate blood, it saves lives.”
NAN
