One Year After the Graz Shooting Rampage: School Day-to-Day Marked by a New Normal

On June 8, 2026, two days before the anniversary, Education Director Elisabeth Meixner, Principal Liane Strohmaier, Education Provincial Councillor Stefan Hermann (FPÖ), as well as representatives of the school community appeared before the press. The aim of the press conference was, according to Meixner, to take the "medialen Druck" off students and teachers. Media representatives were called upon to exercise restraint. Meixner spoke of a "Versuch der Rückkehr in ein geordnetes, normales Leben. Der Schulalltag wurde bewusst behutsam stabilisiert" and emphasized that "die neue Normalität statt einfacher Rückkehr zur Normalität steht im Vordergrund".

Return to the School Site

The principal announced that with the new school year in the fall, all 21 classes of BORG Dreierschützengasse will return to the rebuilt site. "Zum Schulanfang starten wir im neuen Gebäude," said Education Director Meixner. Until then, the majority of instruction will be held in a temporary quarters provided by the technology company AVL. According to Meixner, the renovation work is on schedule: classrooms and hallway areas on the third floor are to be completed on June 19, the second upper floor on July 10, IT areas and parts of the first floor on August 14. A "bauliches Sicherheitskonzept" has been implemented, though she gave no details for security reasons.

Since fall 2025, performance assessments have been taking place again, and according to Meixner, students have reached roughly their previous level of performance, including in the already-submitted pre-scientific papers. A permanently established core team of school psychologists cares for the student body and teaching staff, as Strohmaier reported: "Wir haben rasch wieder in einen Schulalltag gefunden, in dem wir uns sicher gefühlt haben." Special measures have been put in place for the oral Matura examinations beginning Thursday. Overall, more than 1,000 school psychological consultations have taken place over the past year, and on the anniversary itself, 16 school psychologists will accompany the school.

Commemoration in a Small Circle

The memorial ceremony on the anniversary is deliberately small in scale. "Im Mittelpunkt steht der Blick nach vorne," it was said. The students had been asked what they wished for – more than half had wanted the commemoration to be held within the school. The City of Graz and the State of Styria are also planning memorial events that are to take place without media coverage. Graz Mayor Elke Kahr and Principal Strohmaier had previously decided in favor of a restrained handling of the anniversary. "Wie es stattfindet, liegt bei der Schule," Strohmaier explained.

The Perspective of the Relatives

For the parents of those killed, the anniversary is a particular burden. Stefan Bernhart, father of 15-year-old Anna Bella Bernhart from class 5A, the music class of the gymnasium, said: "Das war der schrecklichste Moment überhaupt." A few weeks ago, all parents of the murdered children received an invitation to the memorial ceremony at the school. Bernhart tries not to read much of the reporting and warns against simple formulas of comfort: "Viele glauben, dass es mit der Zeit leichter wird, aber Zeit allein macht nichts besser." The grief comes in waves. When asked whether he himself had thought of giving up, Strohmaier responded evasively.

Psychotherapist Edwin Benko, who has been working in crisis intervention for three decades, warned against a mechanistic understanding of grief. "Die eigentliche Akutphase ist längst vorbei," he said, "aber rund um den Jahrestag bekomme ich wieder vermehrt Anrufe von Angehörigen, die ihre Sorgen und Ängste teilen möchten." There is no right way to deal with such a loss. Withdrawal and silence are not to be equated with forgetting: "Es geht nicht ums Vergessen. Es geht darum, einen Weg zu finden, mit dem Erlebten weiterzuleben." A message to those affected must always be at the center: "Wir denken an euch. Unser Mitgefühl ist da."

Support and Outlook

Student representatives Manuel Mohr and Nuno Koval described how much what they experienced continues to shape their daily lives. Mohr recalled that June 10, 2025 had "in unsere Köpfe gebrannt." Koval described how unidentifiable noises during class can immediately trigger attention and intrusive thoughts. Such ingrained thought patterns show that the wounds are still unhealed for many. At the same time, both reported that the school community has drawn closer together and will spend the anniversary together. "Aber wir haben gelernt, gemeinsam damit umzugehen," Koval said. "Unterricht fühlt sich wieder normaler an."

Parent association chairman Mirza Candic spoke of a "langen und herausfordernden Jahr ... Für viele war es nicht einfach in den Schulalltag zurückzufinden, aber es ist recht gut gelungen". Heidrun Nedoma, head of the steering group at the school site, pointed to the "unterschiedlichen Bedürfnisse" of those affected – parents, teachers, and students. The steering group will continue to accompany the start of school in the fall and will gradually withdraw in winter in order to hand full responsibility back to the school.

In addition to the school measures, Education Provincial Councillor Hermann announced an overview of measures and findings of the Violence Prevention Advisory Board for the fall. "Es gibt noch viel zu verarbeiten," he said. A coordination office for school-based and extracurricular support services is to be set up at the Children's and Youth Ombudsperson's office. A memorial room is also planned, to be set up after the renovated spaces are occupied in the fall. On the website of BORG Dreierschützengasse, one sentence has stood in large letters since last year: "Wir halten zusammen."

In the wake of the shooting year, the students have also publicly made their voices heard, pointed to legal loopholes in weapons law, demanded political consequences, and spoken of a life that has irrevocably changed since June 10, 2025. The school's choir project was continued despite the loss of four choir girls. One mother captured the dilemma of many of those affected: "Irgendwann werde ich wieder leben können, nur jetzt im Moment kann ich es einfach noch nicht."