Austrian Police Find Farewell Letter at Home of Gunman Behind Country’s Deadliest Attack
Police Discover Farewell Letter and Pipe Bomb at Home of 21-Year-Old Gunman in Austria’s Deadliest Post-WWII Attack.
Watan-Austrian police said Wednesday that investigators found a farewell letter and an unused pipe bomb while searching the home of the man who opened fire at his former school, killing 10 people before shooting himself.
As Austria prepares to observe a national minute of silence on Wednesday in mourning for what appears to be the deadliest attack in its post-WWII history, questions remain about the shooter’s motive.
The 21-year-old attacker, who lived near Graz and was a former student of the school—Austria’s second largest city—had not completed his education.
Police stated that he used two firearms: a rifle and a pistol, both of which he appeared to have legally owned.
Franz Ruf, Director of Public Security at Austria’s Interior Ministry, said: “A farewell letter was found in both paper and digital form.”
He added: “He bids farewell to his parents in the letter, but no motive can be inferred from it. This requires further investigation.”
When asked whether the attacker had randomly chosen victims or targeted them intentionally, Ruf said this too was under investigation and declined to speculate.
