A 21-year-old former student at the BORG Dreierschützengasse high school in Graz, Austria opened fire Tuesday using legally-owned firearms, fatally shooting ten people and wounding as many as a dozen others before reportedly taking his own life in a school restroom, according to the BBC and other published reports.
One of the wounded, a teacher, later died at a hospital.
Fox News is reporting that Graz, a city of about 300,000, is Austria’s second-largest city, located in the southeast section of the country.
Among the dead are seven females and three males, not including the suspect. Their names have not been released by authorities. Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker said there will be three days of mourning across the country.
There is no known motive for the shooting, but what is known is that this is yet more proof that school shootings and mass killings in general are not a phenomenon confined to the United States, as the gun prohibition lobby might have people believe.
That much was underscored by the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. Details about the shooting, revealed by the BBC, place traditional gun control arguments in serious doubt, said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb in a statement to the media.
“What we have ascertained from various reports,” Gottlieb stated, “is that the alleged shooter used two legally-obtained firearms, and gun ownership in Austria requires registration. Purchases involve a three-day waiting period, and handguns may be purchased only by people over age 21 who hold firearms licenses.
“This tells us that the gun prohibition lobby is absolutely wrong when it argues that waiting periods and gun registration will prevent such tragedies,” the veteran gun rights advocate observed. “The 21-year-old suspect reportedly used a handgun and a shotgun, and he had a firearms license, so the notion that a licensing requirement will deter such attacks is also now thoroughly debunked.”
A report from the BBC also explained that in Austria, anyone wanting to own a firearm must first provide a reason for the purchase, which can be “sports shooting or self-defense.” Gottlieb noted that in the U.S., with its Second Amendment protection of the right to keep and bear arms, citizens do not need to provide a reason for exercising a constitutionally protected right, especially after the 2022 Supreme Court Bruen ruling.
“What we do know,” Gottlieb said, “is that restrictions on gun ownership in Austria did not prevent this attack, and that calling for such restrictions on gun ownership in America as a means of stopping tragedies here amounts to a promise gun grabbers have no intention of keeping, and know they cannot guarantee. What they do know, but will never acknowledge, is that their efforts are designed to discourage gun ownership, with the ultimate goal of eliminating it altogether.”
According to the BBC, gun ownership in Austria is not uncommon. The British news service cited data from the 2017 Small Arms Survey showing gun ownership in the country is roughly 30 firearms per 100 people. Austrian gun control laws are said to be “more liberal” than in other parts of Europe.
To own a rifle or shotgun, one must be 18 years of age, and they must register the gun with the authorities within six weeks. Gun purchases are subject to a 72-hour waiting period.
Handguns may be purchased by anyone over age 21, but the buyer must have a firearms license. They can buy guns for sport shooting or self-defense, and they must list either reason for the purchase, the BBC said.
“A psychological assessment may be required but is not compulsory,” the BBC said.
Authorities said a shotgun and handgun have been recovered at the crime scene, and both were legally owned by the alleged killer.
