Austria gunman had become fascinated with school shootings, investigators say

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Investigators accidental a erstwhile pupil who killed 9 students and a teacher successful Austria a week agone and past took his ain beingness had go fascinated with schoolhouse shootings successful caller years

VIENNA -- A erstwhile pupil who killed 9 students and a teacher successful Austria a week agone and past took his ain beingness had go fascinated with schoolhouse shootings successful caller years, but his motive for the rampage remains unclear, investigators said Tuesday.

Police person said the 21-year-old gunman planned past Tuesday's astir seven-minute onslaught astatine the BORG Dreierschützengasse precocious schoolhouse successful Graz, which helium near 3 years ago, down to the smallest detail. But overmuch remains uncertain: among different things, wherefore helium chose that peculiar day and wherefore helium stopped shooting erstwhile helium did.

After his assemblage was found, investigators recovered that the shooter inactive had 24 bullets successful 2 magazines and different 18 escaped bullets for his Glock handgun, arsenic good arsenic 17 bullets for his shotgun, said Michael Lohnegger, the caput of Styria province’s transgression constabulary office.

A fewer minutes earlier the shooting began, the gunman took a representation showing his legs and boots successful a schoolhouse bath and posted it to a societal media account, Lohnegger said. Investigators are inactive moving done immoderate 30 different accounts attributed to him, created betwixt 2019 and this year, to find which are genuine.

They tin “say with certainty that, implicit the years, helium developed a important passionateness successful wide presumption for the improvement of schoolhouse shootings,” Lohnegger said. “He glorifies not conscionable the acts successful general, but besides the perpetrators who carried retired these acts."

However, helium said, constabulary inactive person nary accusation connected his motive for the shooting.

Eleven radical were wounded past week. As of Tuesday, 2 had been released from hospitals but 9 were inactive being treated, 2 of whom were inactive successful intensive care, Lohnegger said. Their lives were not successful danger.

Chancellor Christian Stocker said Monday that Austria volition tighten its weapon laws, which are among the much wide successful the European Union. The gunman owned the 2 firearms helium utilized legally.