Wednesday, June 11

Warning: This article contains sensitive information that may be unfit for young viewers.

At least 10 people are dead after a shooting at a high school in northern Austria, marking one of the worst school shootings in Europe in years.

The shooting took place at the Bundesoberstufenrealgymnasium (BORG) Dreierschützengasse high school, located in Graz, a city in southern Austria with a population of around 660,000 people. The 21-year-old shooter was confirmed to be former student of the high school, but he had never graduated.

He entered the campus around 10 am carrying a shotgun and a pistol, which he had legally obtained. The shooter proceeded to kill six women and three men, and one woman later died in the hospital to raise the death toll of the shocking incident to 10. 12 other students were injured, some critically.

Identities of the 10 victims have not been released by Austrian authorities yet, and it is unknown how many of the victims were students and how many were faculty and staff. The shooter was also found dead in one of the bathrooms after committing suicide.

Over 300 police officers rushed to the scene to handle the situation, in addition to over 160 paramedics, and everyone was safely evacuated to a nearby stadium within an hour and a half of the shooting.

Events like this are relatively uncommon in Europe, where strict gun laws have helped prevent mass shootings and other killings. The United States, on the other hand, experiences dozens of school shootings each year due to its less stringent gun restrictions, while Austria experienced just two mass shootings between 2000 and 2022.

Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker has announced that there will be three days of mourning for the victims of the fatal shooting, and a nationwide minute of silence was observed this morning at 10 am local time to commemorate them.

Fact of the Day (BBC): Electrons might be immortal. Scientists have estimated the minimum lifetime of the electron is about 6.6 × 10^28 years – this is 66,000 'yottayears.' Since this is about 5 quintillion times the age of the Universe, even if electrons don’t live forever, they may as well do!

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Don’t give up when things get tough, just hang in there, stay focused and be patient. (Folorunsho Alakija)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Minutia (noun, muh-NOO-shee-uh) - Minutia refers to a small or minor detail. It is usually used in its plural form minutiae.

In a Sentence: Unaccustomed to legalese, I was bewildered by the contract's minutiae.