The Austrian school shooter who massacred 10 people at his former school on Tuesday killed his neighbour in the horrific attack, it has emerged.
Artur A., a 21-year-old from a suburb of Graz, was revealed to have shot and killed a young girl who lived nearby as further details emerged of his abandoned plans to carry out a bombing and messages left behind for family.
The former student of the school killed a teacher and nine pupils between the ages of 14 and 17 in Tuesday’s rampage in the city of Graz.
A further 11 were seriously injured before Artur took his own life at the BORG Dreierschützengasse high school.
The first victim was identified as 15-year-old Lea Ilir Bajrami earlier today.
Police have said that Artur used two weapons, a shotgun and a pistol, which he owned legally. They said he was shooting for 13 minutes.
It has since emerged that the shooter sent his mother a farewell video moments before the attack, pleading for forgiveness for ‘what I’m about to do now’.
Investigators said that his mother had opened the video 24 minutes after receiving it. Alarmed, she immediately notified police, Austrian news outlet Heute reports.
But by that time, Artur had already carried out the deadly attack and taken his own life in a bathroom.
In another message left behind, he was said to have blamed the school and bullying for the act. He also asked that his cat be looked after, Kronen Zeitung reports.
Investigators said they found a non-functional pipe bomb and abandoned plans for a bombing in a search of the assailant’s home.
Arthur A., a 21-year-old from a suburb of Graz, was pictured holding a cat in the first images to emerge since the horrifying attack.
A 15-year-old Kosovan girl named Lea was the first victim to be pictured
The scene at Dreierschützengasse secondary school on Tuesday
Ten people were killed and more than a dozen others were wounded as shots and screams rang out when a shooter stormed into his old classroom and gunned down students and teachers. Pictured: Special forces officer evacuates the school following the deadly shooting in Graz
‘A farewell letter in analog and digital form was found,’ Franz Ruf, the public security director at Austria’s Interior Ministry, told ORF public television Tuesday night.
‘He says goodbye to his parents. But no motive can be inferred from the farewell letter, and that is a matter for further investigations.’
Asked whether the assailant had attacked victims randomly or targeted them specifically, Ruf said that is also under investigation and he didn’t want to speculate.
He said that wounded people were found on various levels of the school and, in one case, in front of the building.
A teacher and nine teenagers, including a Franco-Austrian and a Polish national, aged between 14 and 17, were among the victims, Austrian press agency APA reported.
In new details, investigators said the gunman, who would have turned 22 in less than two weeks, did not have his own social media profiles.
He was described as a loner who maintained contact with only one friend, who did not know he was planning to unleash carnage on Tuesday morning.
Despite living in Kalsforf – population 8,000 – for five years, Artur did not get involved in any local events, activities or sports teams. He also appeared to have no social media profiles.
‘He was a very inconspicuous young man,’ said Kalsdorf mayor Manfred Komericky.
‘It felt like he wasn’t even noticed. Nobody really knew him. This is exactly the profile that we unfortunately see too often – silent, socially isolated recluses.’
Artur had studied computer science at middle school and went on to business school until 2019, local media reports.
He lived with his single mother in a suburb of Graz and had struggled to find work, Heute reports.
Artur is understood to have been a former student at the school attacked on Tuesday, but had not completed his studies.
Policemen are seen in a street close to the school where several people died in a shooting, on June 10, 2025
People embrace as they gather on the main square following a deadly school shooting in Graz, Austria, June 10, 2025
Nine students were killed in Tuesday’s attack – six girls and three boys aged between 14 and 17, one of whom had Polish citizenship – as well as a teacher, police said.
Another 11 people were wounded. The attacker took his own life.
Nine of those injured were still in intensive care but in a stable condition on Wednesday, according to hospital officials.
A 15-year-old Kosovan girl named Lea Ilir Bajrami is the first of his victims to be pictured.
Mourning the teen in a Facebook post, her heartbroken aunt wrote: ‘Today, my niece Lea tragically lost her life in the attack in Graz.
‘We pray for her soul and express our gratitude to all those who share our pain during these difficult times.’
Her grandfather Muhabi Bajrami wrote on Facebook: ‘With a broken heart and great pain, we inform family, friends and relatives that our granddaughter tragically lost her life in the attack that occurred in Graz, Austria.
‘We pray for her soul and express our gratitude to all those who share our pain in these difficult moments.’
Shots and screams rang out as the shooter stormed into his old classroom blasting a shotgun and a pistol.
In the country’s worst mass school shooting, terror-stricken pupils pretended to be dead as they cowered in corridors and two classrooms or ran for their lives.
Chilling video captured the sound of shots followed by screams as the gunman picked off his victims.
One student fleeing from the shooter called her mother during the attack saying: ‘Mama, mama, I’m running for my life!’
The mother described the situation to reporters as unbearable, saying: ‘It was so terrible, you can’t even imagine it.’
Another student reportedly witnessed three classmates being shot. His father said: ‘He was terrified and lay down on the floor so the shooter would think he was dead.’
His mother immediately notified police after opening his video, but it was too late. Pictured: A grab from a chilling video circulating online that shows the moment gunshots rang out around the BORG Dreierschuetzengasse high school
Pictured: Two female students cling on to each other as they escape the school building
In the country’s worst mass school shooting, terror-stricken pupils pretended to be dead as they cowered in corridors and two classrooms or ran for their lives. Pictured: Special forces descended on the high school shortly before 10am local time after reports of gunshots
Religious studies teacher Paul Nitsche told how he saw the gunman blasting out locks with a shotgun before entering and spraying staff and students with handgun bullets.
‘It was hard to take in,’ he said. ‘This is something I had never even imagined before. That’s what the situation was like as I was running down the stairwell – I thought to myself, this isn’t real.’
Another teacher, who asked not to be named, said: ‘The whole community is in a state of shock. Schools should be places of safety and learning. But on this day it became more like something from a nightmare.
‘Everyone was in a state of sheer terror.’
Church bells rang across the city of Graz today, all local radio and TV broadcasts were interrupted and more than 900 public transport vehicles, including trams and buses, ground to a halt for 10am mark of remembrance.
Flags on the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, where the president has his office, flew at half mast.
Grieving Austrians held tearful memorials where mourners cried, hugged and left flowers, candles and letters to the victims in churches and outside the school.
‘Thank you, Hanna, for the 15 years I was able to spend with you,’ said Kenan, paying tribute to his sister at a memorial event on Wednesday evening.
‘It’s hard to believe that we have lost such a lively, energetic, brave, curious and helpful girl so early in life.’
Two other schools in the city, including a nursery school, were being evacuated today after they received ‘copycat’ threats shortly before the planned minute’s silence.
Six female and three male victims died quickly, with one adult said to be among them. The tenth victim, a woman, succumbed to her injuries in hospital last night.
The former pupil ended his deadly rampage when he turned a gun on himself in a toilet cubicle.
Footage shows terror-stricken pupils run down a corridor and a flight of stairs as they are escorted out of the building by heavily armed police
Family members reunite following the deadly school shooting in Graz, Austria
Six female and three male victims died quickly, with one adult said to be among them. The tenth victim, a woman, succumbed to her injuries in hospital last night
Austria was plunged into a state of shock, with Chancellor Christian Stocker flying to Graz and declaring a ‘dark day in the history of our country’
More than 300 police and special forces descended on the school after ‘screams and gunshots’ were heard by emergency service workers
One neighbour described him as ‘inconspicuous’, telling Profil news outlet: ‘He was completely withdrawn.
‘He wore his large headphones and a backpack whenever he went in and out. He never said hello, but he was never unpleasant in any way’.
His mother has been described as a ‘kind’ and ‘truly sweet’ woman, with one neighbour commenting: ‘I’m praying not only for the victims’ families, but also for the mother.’
Detectives are scouring data on his mobile phone and computers to build a picture of his recent movements and search for clues as to his motivation.
Austria was plunged into a state of shock, with Chancellor Christian Stocker flying to Graz and declaring a ‘dark day in the history of our country’ as he announced three days of national mourning.
More than 300 police and special forces descended on the school after ‘screams and gunshots’ were heard by emergency service workers during frantic calls at 10am local time.
Armed Cobra police commandos charged into the four-storey building as part of an emergency response that included 65 ambulances, at least two air ambulances and 158 paramedics.
Terrified pupils filmed themselves as gunshots rang out, and later as they fled down corridors as armed officers helped evacuate them from the 400-pupil school.
Two schoolgirls were shown clinging on to each other as they ran from the school building. One teacher described being barricaded inside a classroom with pupils as they heard the gunshots.
People gather to observe a minute of silence in honour of the victims of a deadly shooting at a secondary school
Last night Graz Cathedral held a service of reflection and the city’s main square became a ‘sea of lights’ as candles were lit for the victims
People light candles for the victims of a school shooting at Hauptplatz square in Graz, Austria
The gunman entered the premises with a handgun and a pistol, according to local reports
A member of rescue services knees on the floor and pray during a memorial service following the shooting on June 10
A distressing video showed victims lined up on stretchers outside of the school while dozens of paramedics tended to them.
Some were covered by white sheets. Helicopter ambulances airlifted the most severely injured straight to Graz Regional Hospital.
Desperate parents raced to the school as word of the massacre spread, with police reuniting them with evacuated survivors at a local hall.
One father told how his son had survived by pretending to be dead. The man, named as Farag, told television channel Puls 24: ‘Out of fear, he lay down to pretend that he was killed so that he wouldn’t be targeted any more.’
He added: ‘Who did this? What kind of problem did he have?’
One mother said: ‘My son called me to say he was in school and that he was being shot at, and that he thinks he is going to die. I’ve only found out now, two hours later, that he’s still alive.’
Metin Ozden, who was in his kebab restaurant near the school, said: ‘I’ve never seen so many emergency services in my entire life.’ He said parents passing his restaurant were crying as they rushed to the school.
Police commander Franz Ruff said ‘at least’ a dozen people had been injured in addition to those killed.
Krone Zeitung newspaper previously reported that 28 people were taken to hospital, with at least two of them in an ‘extremely critical condition’. Seven required emergency surgery.
Graz mayor Elke Kahr called the incident ‘a terrible tragedy’. Here she is pictured making a phone call after the shooting
Some victims had reportedly been shot in the head. The numbers have not been officially verified.
Police confirmed the killer had legally owned the weapons, with the Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper reporting he had purchased one of the guns just days ago.
Attacks in public are rare in the nation of almost 9.2 million people, which ranks among the ten safest countries in the world, according to the Global Peace Index.
Last night the country’s Chancellor said: ‘A school… is a space of trust, of security, of the future. The fact that this safe space was shattered by such an act of violence leaves us speechless.’
Austria’s foreign minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger said: ‘As a mother of three children, my heart is breaking.’ The local state governor Mario Kunasek said ‘the green heart of Austria is crying’, while president Alexander van der Bellen said: ‘This horror cannot be captured in words.’
Leaders from across Europe sent their condolences including Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky who said he was ‘deeply saddened’. French education minister Elisabeth Borne said that one of those who died was a ‘young fellow citizen’ of France.
Today, a nationwide minute’s silence will be held at 10am local time. Flags on the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, where the president has his office, will fly at half mast. Pictured: People light candles in the main square
A woman leaves a candle at a makeshift memorial site near BORG Dreierschuetzengasse high school where the shooting took place
At a news conference earlier in the day, Austria’s interior minister Gerhard Karner refused to be drawn on ‘speculation’ in the case, saying it was the job of the criminal office to investigate.
Police did confirm the killer was not ‘known’ to authorities before the attack.
Last night Graz Cathedral held a service of reflection and the city’s main square became a ‘sea of lights’ as candles were lit for the victims.
In a nearby parish church, prayers were said for victims including one called Leo. ‘We are lighting a light for Leo,’ said Father Pesendorfer, who was in tears.
‘It is truly shocking,’ Mariam Fayz, a 22-year-old student, told a reporter at a candle vigil. ‘We will always think back on this.’
Yesterday afternoon long queues formed outside a blood donation centre in Graz. Johanna, 30, said: ‘I’m here because I wanted to do something. I felt helpless.’
Austria has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in Europe, with roughly 370,000 Austrians legally owning 1.5 million registered firearms, according to the interior ministry.
Wild hunting is popular in the country and more than half of Austria’s registered firearms fall under the category of weapons that can be owned by any adult without a licence.
