The parents of seven students killed in the June shooting in Graz intend to file an official liability lawsuit against the Republic of Austria. They are represented by Graz attorney Karin Prutsch-Lang. She announced in a press release on Tuesday that she plans to send a corresponding letter to the Finance Procurator in the coming days. The circumstances surrounding the perpetrator’s gun ownership are likely crucial.
The 21-year-old former student, who killed nine students and a teacher, legally owned his weapons. This was despite having previously been deemed unfit for service with a weapon by the Austrian Armed Forces during a psychological evaluation.
Attorney Prutsch-Lang is now focusing on this issue. “By failing to forward a well-known, security-relevant assessment and citing ‘data protection reasons,’ the Armed Forces prevented the weapons authority from gaining a complete understanding of the applicant’s psychological fitness. This omission constitutes a culpable breach of official duty,” states the prepared letter that is already on the lawyer’s desk.
Criticism of the Multiple-Choice Test
Two signatures from the parents are still missing on the final version of the letter. The attorney expects these in the coming days. Afterwards, the letter will be sent to the Finance Procurator, essentially the lawyer for the Republic, she confirmed in media reports on Tuesday evening.
The lawsuit is based not only on the military assessment. It also concerns the district authority’s test: issuing a gun ownership card by the district administrative authority was likewise “illegal and culpable.” According to the complaint, the decision relied “exclusively on an obviously unsuitable multiple-choice test.” Authorities failed to conduct further investigations or even critically engage with the test itself.
