10 dead in Austria school shooting: mayor

Ten people died on Tuesday after a suspected shooter opened fire in a southeastern Austrian school, press agency APA quoted Graz city mayor Elke Kahr as saying.

Students and teachers were reported to be among the casualties, along with the suspected assailant.

Special forces were among those sent to the BORG Dreierschützengasse high school after a call at 10 am.

Graz, Austria’s second-biggest city, is located in the southeast of the country and has about 300,000 inhabitants.

"The news from Graz shakes us to the core," EU chief Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X.

"My thoughts are with the victims, their families, and friends," she posted, adding: "My thanks go to the emergency services and helpers during these difficult times."

Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker declared three days of national mourning.

"During three days of national mourning, all of Austria" will remember the victims, Stocker told a press conference in Graz. "This is a dark day," he said, standing alongside Interior Minister Gerhard Karner, adding that the Alpine country had seen "an act of unimaginable violence".