Austria falls silent for a minute as questions remain about the motive for a deadly school shooting

GRAZ, Austria (AP) — Austria fell silent for a minute on Wednesday and people laid candles in the city of Graz in memory of the 10 people killed in a school shooting that shocked the country.

Investigators said they found a farewell letter and video, a non-functional pipe bomb and abandoned plans for a bombing in a search of the assailant's home near Graz. But they said they don't yet know what his motive was.

Nine students were killed — six girls and three boys aged between 14 and 17, one of whom had Polish citizenship — as well as a teacher, police said. Another 11 people were wounded. The attacker took his own life.

Austria has declared three days of national mourning following what appears to be the deadliest attack in its post-World War II history. At 10 a.m. on Wednesday, marking the moment a day earlier when police were alerted to shots at the BORG Dreierschützengasse high school, the country stopped for a minute of silence.

Hundreds of people lined the central square in Graz, Austria's second-biggest city. Some laid more candles and flowers in front of the city hall, adding to a growing memorial to the victims. The first candles were laid on Tuesday evening as a crowd gathered on the square, some people hugging each other as they tried to come to terms with the tragedy. Hundreds of people joined Austrian officials at a service Tuesday evening in the Graz cathedral.

Among those on the square Wednesday was Chiara Komlenic, a 28-year-old art history student who finished her exams at the school there.

“I always felt very protected there. The teachers were also very supportive,” she said. "I made lifelong friendships there. It just hurts to see that young girls and boys will never come back, that they experienced the worst day of their lives where I had the best time of my life. I still know a few teachers, it just hurts a lot.”

In the capital, Vienna, the local transport authority had trams, subway trains and buses stop for a minute.

The 21-year-old Austrian man lived near Graz and was a former student at the school who hadn’t completed his studies. Police have said that he used two weapons, a shotgun and a pistol, which he owned legally.

Police said the attacker lived with his mother near Graz and investigators found the two farewell messages, a pipe bomb that wouldn't have worked and abandoned plans for a bombing when they searched his apartment. They didn't elaborate on those findings in a post on social network X Wednesday, other than to say they haven't yet been able to draw conclusions.

“A farewell letter in analog and digital form was found,” Franz Ruf, the public security director at Austria’s Interior Ministry, told ORF public television Tuesday night. “He says goodbye to his parents. But no motive can be inferred from the farewell letter, and that is a matter for further investigations.”

Asked whether the assailant had attacked victims randomly or targeted them specifically, Ruf said that is also under investigation and he didn’t want to speculate.

He said that wounded people were found on various levels of the school and, in one case, in front of the building.

By Wednesday morning, the authority that runs hospitals in Graz said that all patients were in stable condition. Nine were still in intensive care units, with one needing a further operation on a facial wound and a second on a knee injury, while another two had been moved to regular wards.

Police said none of their lives were in danger and that the wounded people were aged between 15 and 26. Two are Romanian nationals and one is an Iranian citizen.

“Graz is the second-largest city in Austria, but we still say that Graz is a village," said Fabian Enzi, a university student among those on the main square of the city of about 300,000 people Wednesday.

“Every time you are out you meet people you know. There is a high chance that with such an attack you know people which are affected,” the 22-year-old said. "There are a lot of desperate faces.”

Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.

People light candles on the main square after a former student opened fire the day before at a school fatally wounding several people and injuring many others before taking his own life, Graz, Austria, Wednesday, June 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

People pay a moment of silence on the main square after a former student opened fire the day before at a school fatally wounding several people and injuring many others before taking his own life, Graz, Austria, Wednesday, June 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

A police officer guards the entrance of a school where a former student opened fire the day before fatally wounding 10 people and injuring many others before taking his own life, Graz, Austria, Wednesday, June 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

People pay a moment of silence on the main square after a former student opened fire the day before at a school fatally wounding several people and injuring many others before taking his own life, Graz, Austria, Wednesday, June 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

People pay a moment of silence on the main square after a former student opened fire the day before at a school fatally wounding several people and injuring many others before taking his own life, Graz, Austria, Wednesday, June 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Candles light on the main square in the city center after a deadly shooting at a school in Graz, Austria, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Heinz-Peter Bader)

People light candles for victims of a former student who opened fire at a school, fatally wounding 10 people and injuring many others before taking his own life, in Graz, Austria, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

A woman holds a candle for victims of a former student who opened fire at a school, fatally wounding 10 people and injuring many others before taking his own life, in Graz, Austria, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

People light candles for victims of a former student who opened fire at a school, fatally wounding 10 people and injuring many others before taking his own life, in Graz, Austria, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

NEW YORK (AP) — Thousands of nurses in three hospital systems in New York City went on strike Monday after negotiations through the weekend failed to yield breakthroughs in their contract disputes.

The strike was taking place at The Mount Sinai Hospital and two of its satellite campuses, with picket lines forming. The other affected hospitals are NewYork-Presbyterian and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.

About 15,000 nurses are involved in the strike, according to New York State Nurses Association.

“After months of bargaining, management refused to make meaningful progress on core issues that nurses have been fighting for: safe staffing for patients, healthcare benefits for nurses, and workplace violence protections,” the union said in a statement issued Monday. “Management at the richest hospitals in New York City are threatening to discontinue or radically cut nurses’ health benefits.”

The strike, which comes during a severe flu season, could potentially force the hospitals to transfer patients, cancel procedures or divert ambulances. It could also put a strain on city hospitals not involved in the contract dispute, as patients avoid the medical centers hit by the strike.

The hospitals involved have been hiring temporary nurses to try and fill the labor gap during the walkout, and said in a statement during negotiations that they would “do whatever is necessary to minimize disruptions.” Montefiore posted a message assuring patients that appointments would be kept.

“NYSNA’s leaders continue to double down on their $3.6 billion in reckless demands, including nearly 40% wage increases, and their troubling proposals like demanding that a nurse not be terminated if found to be compromised by drugs or alcohol while on the job," Montefiore spokesperson Joe Solmonese said Monday after the strike had started. "We remain resolute in our commitment to providing safe and seamless care, regardless of how long the strike may last.”

New York-Presbyterian accused the union of staging a strike to “create disruption,” but said in a statement that it has taken steps to ensure patients receive the care they need.

"We’re ready to keep negotiating a fair and reasonable contract that reflects our respect for our nurses and the critical role they play, and also recognizes the challenging realities of today’s healthcare environment,” the statement said.

The work stoppage is occurring at multiple hospitals simultaneously, but each medical center is negotiating with the union independently. Several other hospitals across the city and in its suburbs reached deals in recent days to avert a possible strike.

The nurses’ demands vary by hospital, but the major issues include staffing levels and workplace safety. The union says hospitals have given nurses unmanageable workloads.

Nurses also want better security measures in the workplace, citing incidents like a an incident last week, when a man with a sharp object barricaded himself in a Brooklyn hospital room and was then killed by police.

The union also wants limitations on hospitals’ use of artificial intelligence.

The nonprofit hospitals involved in the negotiations say they’ve been working to improve staffing levels, but say the union’s demands overall are too costly.

Nurses voted to authorize the strike last month.

Both New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani had expressed concern about the possibility of the strike. As the strike deadline neared, Mamdani urged both sides to keep negotiating and reach a deal that “both honors our nurses and keeps our hospitals open.”

“Our nurses kept this city alive through its hardest moments. Their value is not negotiable,” Mamdani said.

State Attorney General Letitia James voiced similar support, saying "nurses put their lives on the line every day to keep New Yorkers healthy. They should never be forced to choose between their own safety, their patients’ well-being, and a fair contract.”

The last major nursing strike in the city was only three years ago, in 2023. That work stoppage, at Mount Sinai and Montefiore, was short, lasting three days. It resulted in a deal raising pay 19% over three years at those hospitals.

It also led to promised staffing improvements, though the union and hospitals now disagree about how much progress has been made, or whether the hospitals are retreating from staffing guarantees.

Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

FILE - A medical worker transports a patient at Mount Sinai Hospital, April 1, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)