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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Iran''''s Mexico Embassy says Iran is negotiating with FIFA to move World Cup matches
Mexico City (AP): Iran's Embassy in Mexico on Tuesday said the country is negotiating with FIFA to move Iran's World Cup matches from the U.S. to Mexico after President Donald Trump discouraged the team from attending the tournament, citing safety concerns.
It was unclear whether such talks are happening with FIFA, which did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Iranian officials have previously said it is up to FIFA and the U.S. to keep the team safe during the World Cup.
The Embassy posted a statement attributed to Iranian soccer federation president Mehdi Taj saying Iran wants to move its group stage matches to Mexico to ensure the safety of players and officials.
“When Trump has explicitly stated that he cannot ensure the security of the Iranian national team, we will certainly not travel to America,” the statement said. “We are currently negotiating with FIFA to hold Iran's matches in the World Cup in Mexico.”
The World Cup is being co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. Iran is scheduled to play against New Zealand on June 16 and Belgium on June 21 in Inglewood, California, before finishing group play in Seattle against Egypt on June 26.
Moving the games would be unprecedented less than three months before the start of the World Cup.
Trump said last week that the Iran team was welcome at the World Cup despite the ongoing war in the Middle East but “I really don't believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety.”
Iran has sent mixed signals about its participation in the tournament after the U.S. and Israel launched attacks that killed the Islamic republic's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens of other senior figures.
Sports minister Ahmad Donyamali told state TV last week that it was not possible to play "due to the wicked acts they have done against Iran.”
But after Trump's post the national team said on Instagram that “no one can exclude” it from the tournament and a government spokesman in Tehran stressed in it was the responsibility of FIFA and the U.S. as a co-host nation to keep players safe and secure.
“FIFA is the organizer of the World Cup,” Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said. “When warnings are issued at the highest level about the environment being unsafe for Iranian football players, this indicates that the host country apparently lacks the capacity and ability to provide security for such an important sporting event.”
Soccer is followed passionately in Iran, a nation of more than 90 million people which has qualified for seven men's World Cups and each of the past four editions. The team is ranked No. 20 in the world by FIFA and behind only Japan from Asia.
FIFA has not commented in recent days beyond an Instagram post by president Gianni Infantino last week that he'd received assurances from Trump that Iran was welcome at the tournament.
