By Euronews
Published on
The 21-year-old gunman who went to his former school in Graz on Tuesday and shot 10 people dead and injured a further 11 had carefully planned his rampage in advance.
That’s according to a statement by the public prosecutor’s office and the police at a press conference on Thursday.
During a search of his house, investigators found a non-functional pipe bomb, notes and plans. According to police, the pipe bomb contained all the components.
His notes express regret that he did not have time to properly finalise his plans.
A farewell letter was also among the items found, but according to investigators, it does not provide any further information about the perpetrator’s motive and reads more like an apology to his family.
Investigators also revealed that the young man, who lived with his mother, had lived a secluded life.
He was reportedly introverted, withdrew mainly into the virtual world where his main social contact came from and played first-person shooter games.
Three years ago, he dropped out of school without graduating. The 21-year-old had no criminal record.
Michael Lohnegger, the head of the Styrian state police, explained that the perpetrator entered the school on Tuesday at 9:43 am. He was carrying a rucksack containing a Glock 19 pistol, a sawn-off double-barrelled shotgun and ammunition.
He went to the school toilet on the third floor, put on a gun belt, shooting glasses and a headset. There were 400 pupils in the school at the time.
The gunman, then heavily armed, went to the second floor and shot indiscriminately at people there and at 10:07 am went back to the third floor toilet where he shot himself.
The first police patrol arrived at the school at 10:06 am, by which time the rampage was over and the gunman already dead.
Investigators assume that the 21-year-old did not know the young people he shot, although the teacher who was killed had taught at the school at the time the gunman was a pupil there.
The police investigation is still ongoing, with a laptop and a USB stick still to be analysed.
So far, there are no concrete clues as to the motive for the shooting.
