A spate of school killings in Western Europe has raised pressure on authorities to tackle a problem long seen as a largely U.S. phenomenon, increasing momentum for tougher gun and security laws as well as more policing of social media.
While mass shootings remain far more common in the United States, four of the worst school shootings in Western Europe this century have occurred since 2023; two of them — a massacre of 11 people in Austria and another in Sweden — have taken place this year.
Last week's killings in the Austrian city of Graz sparked calls for tighter gun laws by political leaders, mirroring the response of the Swedish government after the 11 deaths at the Campus Risbergska school in Orebro in February.
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