School shooting in Austrian city of Graz leaves at least 9 people, suspected gunman dead
Graz (Austria) (AP): A former student opened fire at a school in Austria's second-biggest city on Tuesday, killing nine people and wounding at least 12 others before taking his own life, authorities said.
There was no immediate information on the motive of the 21-year-old man, who wasn't previously known to police. He had two weapons, which he appeared to have owned legally, police said.
Special forces were among those sent to the BORG Dreierschutzengasse high school, about a kilometre from Graz's historic centre, 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.
Police said they didn't immediately have information on the man's motive, but said that he killed himself in a toilet after fatally shooting nine people.
The shooter was a former student at the school who didn't finish his studies, Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said at a press conference in Graz.
Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker said there would be three days of national mourning, with the Austrian flag lowered to half-staff and a national minute of mourning at 10 a.m. Wednesday. He said that it was “a dark day in the history of our country”.
Photos from the scene showed a large police deployment, including at least one helicopter and emergency vehicles around the school.
President Alexander Van der Bellen said that “this horror cannot be captured in words”.
“These were young people who had their whole lives ahead of them. A teacher who accompanied them on their way,” he said.
“Schools are symbols for youth, hope and the future,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X. “It is hard to bear when schools become places of death and violence.”
Graz, Austria's second-biggest city, is located in the southeast of the country and has about 300,000 inhabitants.
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Defamation case: Rahul alleges political malice; UP court sets March 9 hearing
Sultanpur (UP) (PTI): Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday appeared before an MP-MLA court in Uttar Pradesh's Sultanpur and recorded his statement in a 2018 defamation case related to his remarks against Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Gandhi told the court of Special Judge Shubham Verma that the allegations against him were made out of political malice and with an aim of destroying his image and that of his party, the Congress leader's advocate Kashi Prasad Shukla told PTI.
The court fixed March 9 as the next date of hearing on which the Lok Sabha MP from Raebareli has been asked to furnish evidence in his defence, the lawyer said.
Elaborating about the statement given by the Congress leader in the court, his lawyer said Gandhi denied all allegations levelled against him.
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"The allegations are baseless and unfounded. I have never used derogatory words against anyone, nor have I used such language with the intention of defaming anyone. A false complaint has been filed by distorting my statement," Shukla quoted Gandhi as saying.
"The allegations have been made against me out of political malice with the aim of destroying my image and that of my party. I have never used derogatory words against anyone, nor have I used such language with the intention of defaming anyone," Gandhi told the court
As the Congress leader emerged from the court after recording his statement, party supporters raised slogans hailing him. Gandhi smiled and waved at the crowd before leaving.
Gandhi entered the Sultanpur court around 10.40 am and left after recording statements around 11.15 am.
Ahead of the court hearing, some local Congress leaders had put up posters in Sultanpur that read 'Satyamev Jayate' (truth always triumphs).
The case dates back to 2018 when local BJP leader and former chairman of the District Cooperative Bank Vijay Mishra had filed a defamation complaint against Gandhi, alleging that during the Karnataka elections in 2018, the Congress leader made derogatory remarks against the then BJP president and current Union Home Minister Shah.
Santosh Kumar Pandey, the lawyer representing Mishra, said the cross-examination of the plaintiff and two witnesses has been completed.
The trial has been underway for the past five years. In December 2023, a warrant was issued against Gandhi for non-appearance before the court. He surrendered in February 2024, following which a special magistrate granted him bail on two sureties of Rs 25,000 each.
On July 26, 2024, Gandhi recorded his statement before the court, claiming innocence and terming the case a political conspiracy. Thereafter, the court directed the complainant to produce evidence in the case.
