Eight people were killed in a shooting at a school in the Austrian city of Graz on Tuesday, and the suspected perpetrator also died, the city’s mayor said.

Mayor Elke Kahr described the events as a “terrible tragedy,” the Austria Press Agency reported. It added that the fatalities were seven students and one adult.

Kahr said that many people were taken to hospitals with injuries.

Police said they believe the assailant acted alone.

Special forces were among those sent to the BORG Dreierschützengasse high school after a call at 10am (6pm AEST).

At 11.30am (7.30pm AEST), police wrote on social network X that the school had been evacuated and everyone had been taken to a safe meeting point.

They wrote that the situation was “secured” and there is no longer believed to be any danger.

Police deployed in large numbers, with police and other emergency vehicles guarding the area around the school and with at least one police helicopter flying above the area, according to photos published by the regional newspaper Kleine Zeitung.

Graz, Austria’s second-biggest city, is located in the southeast of the country and has about 300,000 inhabitants.

Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner was on his way to Graz.

In Brussels, European Union spokesperson Paula Pinho said that “we would like to offer our deepest condolences to the families of the victims and the entire city of Graz in Austria. And we stand together in mourning while we seek clarity in the wake of this horrible event in a school.”