A man opened fire at a high school in the Austrian city of Graz on June 10, killing 10 people in one of the deadliest attacks in the country’s recent history. Authorities confirmed that the victims included teenagers between 14 and 18 years old. Twelve others were injured, some critically.
The 21-year-old suspect, who had previously attended the school but did not graduate, used a shotgun and a pistol in the attack before fatally shooting himself in a bathroom, officials said. Police believe the shooter acted alone and obtained the weapons legally.
The massacre has left Austria in a state of grief and disbelief. Investigators continue to gather evidence and interview witnesses, but no motive has been released.
Most of us would rather not dwell on the idea of monsters, but they’re hard to banish from our minds. Our brains, shaped by millennia of evolution to detect danger, keep them vividly alive. In today’s world, mass shooters have replaced the primal threats that once haunted us: not lions in the brush or snakes in the grass, but killers in schools, grocery stores, and shopping malls.
These monsters don’t lurk in shadows: they strike in broad daylight, in places we consider safe. To protect ourselves and our communities, we must confront their motives, examine their mental anguish, and study their disordered minds. Only then can we begin to uncover ways to prevent these tragedies before they unfold.
Click through the gallery to explore the progress we’ve made and the hope it offers for a safer future.