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School shooting in Austria

(25 Posts)
nanna8 Wed 11-Jun-25 14:28:32

Absolutely shocking news from Graz. The shooter committed suicide and shot himself,too. So sad that this sort of thing seems to happen and that young people can be so disturbed. Usually something that seems to happen from time to time in the US but not in Austria.

TerriBull Wed 11-Jun-25 16:05:36

I think it's occasionally happened in European countries, it's almost coomon place in the US. Thank God since the awful Dunblane massacre, firearms are not allowed in Britain. I agree though awful.

Georgesgran Wed 11-Jun-25 16:14:58

I think it was a disgruntled ex-pupil, who hadn’t been allowed to graduate.

Allira Wed 11-Jun-25 16:35:24

He legally owned the pistol and shotgun used in the attack, police said.

Nine students were killed, 12 people injured, a teacher dying later in hospital from her injuries.
Just horrendous.

Thinking of those poor families.

keepingquiet Wed 11-Jun-25 16:39:41

Hunting remains popular in Austria...

Casdon Wed 11-Jun-25 17:35:22

Hunting remains popular throughout Europe, including in the UK, and lots of people legally own guns too. I think it’s virtually impossible to stop these isolated massacres, unless schools become fortresses. So often it is people with serious mental health problems, although I don’t think that has been confirmed in this case. So very sad, such a waste of young lives.

growstuff Wed 11-Jun-25 19:03:22

Of course he had mental health problems Casdon - he was white and Austrian hmm.

JenniferEccles Wed 11-Jun-25 22:31:36

Usually serious mental health problems exacerbated by drugs.

Allira Wed 11-Jun-25 22:34:46

growstuff

Of course he had mental health problems Casdon - he was white and Austrian hmm.

What is wrong with being white and Austrian that it might cause MH problems?

The days of Hitler are long gone.

Wyllow3 Wed 11-Jun-25 22:44:31

Well exactly, growstuff. Look, everyone's first thought is, was it an incomer, a migrant, and all that then happens socially/politically ? But Austria are so strict, it was unlikely.
So we turn to the "why" and really "I think it was a disgruntled ex-pupil, who hadn’t been allowed to graduate" from Georgesgran.

I am so, so glad, too, about our UK gun policy, and long may it remain that way! Something to be very proud of.

Allira Wed 11-Jun-25 22:52:00

I am so, so glad, too, about our UK gun policy, and long may it remain that way! Something to be very proud of.

Me too, although some do seem to slip through the net and obtain a licence when they should never be allowed near a firearm of any kind.

Whethertomorrow Wed 11-Jun-25 23:30:51

The British don’t have many guns but we have knives and machetes.

growstuff Thu 12-Jun-25 00:12:52

Allira

growstuff

Of course he had mental health problems Casdon - he was white and Austrian hmm.

What is wrong with being white and Austrian that it might cause MH problems?

The days of Hitler are long gone.

Nothing to do with Hitler. Mental health is the usual speculation if a perpetuator turns out to be white, as opposed to a terrorist with a brown face.

nanna8 Thu 12-Jun-25 00:53:55

Just pointing out that the gun laws are very,very strict in Australia,ever since the Port Arthur massacre in 1996. Most people do not own guns unless they have a special permit for hunting or on a farm. No one has the sort of guns they sell in the US, they are prohibited. Our police are armed which they certainly need to be these days.

keepingquiet Thu 12-Jun-25 08:56:43

Austrian gun laws are strict too, but not for hunting which remains an almost national sport. I am led to believe the murderer's guns were fully licensed and legal.

Beeb Thu 12-Jun-25 14:33:29

Both the gun laws and the issue of bullying in schools are part of this. Not sure how far schools can be expected to go but maybe there needs to be more work done on how some individuals are driven to this point. I’m not trying to excuse the actions of the murderer. People who go through hell at school may think if they had a gun they would been tempted to use it as they are so desperate, but it’s nothing more than a thought. In reality they wouldn’t do anything like that. It must be the rare person who feels that way and then, due to mental health, deteriorates down to acting out those thoughts.

escaped Thu 12-Jun-25 18:39:25

Not sure how far schools can be expected to go but maybe there needs to be more work done on how some individuals are driven to this point.
That's a good point. I think the teenage years are very difficult for schools to control, what with hormones, bullying, all kinds of pressures etc. A code of acceptable behaviour needs to be instilled in pre-school children and worked on throughout the formative years. I don't care whether they have brown, black, white or yellow faces - there are rules of correct behaviour to which every child should conform.

Casdon Thu 12-Jun-25 19:17:08

Presumably this man had left school at least three years ago though, as he was 21. I don’t think that other than tightening security so that nobody could enter the grounds, that there is much the school could have done to prevent this incident?

escaped Thu 12-Jun-25 19:46:08

Indeed, yet if he had been taught to be empathetic over the past dozen or so years, then he would have been unlikely to do such an inhumane thing.

Casdon Thu 12-Jun-25 20:06:26

I presume he was a psychopath, I can’t believe anybody else would do that in cold blood.

FranP Thu 12-Jun-25 20:48:57

TerriBull

I think it's occasionally happened in European countries, it's almost coomon place in the US. Thank God since the awful Dunblane massacre, firearms are not allowed in Britain. I agree though awful.

But we did have a killing of 2 little girls at a dance class..

Parents allowed this child not only to have the weapons, but to take them out

escaped Thu 12-Jun-25 21:00:20

On Tuesday this week in France, a 14 year old boy drew a knife and killed a young teacher because he had been told off for smooching with his girlfriend in school. The knife was from his parents' kitchen drawer.
I despair.
Macron said that France can't wait say longer to any longer to ban social media for children under 15, but I'm not sure that even measures like that will have any effect. It's far more complicated, no one has the answer.

escaped Thu 12-Jun-25 21:00:52

*any longer

nanna8 Fri 13-Jun-25 00:22:12

We have just banned machetes here but I doubt it will make much difference. There are plenty of other knives around and you can’t ban kitchen knives. Like many other countries, we are very soft on crime when committed by under 18s. Sometimes I think we should look at places like Singapore, it wouldn’t happen there because they wouldn’t dare.

keepingquiet Fri 13-Jun-25 09:47:13

No one cares about the children anymore...