Austrian school shooter was likely fan of online shooting games

The 21-year-old man suspected of this week carrying out Austria's worst school shooting was likely an introverted fan of online shooting games, criminal investigators said on Thursday.

The Austrian man, identified by local media as Arthur A., killed 10 people before shooting himself at his former high school in the southern city of Graz, sending shockwaves through Austria, which declared three days of national mourning.

Police found discarded plans for a bomb attack and a non-functional bomb during a search of his home after the shooting.

Police are still attempting to establish what motivated him, but Michael Lohnegger, head of the state of Styria's criminal investigation office, said the man was introverted and that his great passion appeared to be online first-person shooting games.

"He led an extremely withdrawn life, he didn't want to take part in activities in normal life outside in the real world, he preferred to withdraw into the virtual space," he said.

Authorities said the suspect failed to complete his studies at the school. Local media reported the man, who lived with his mother on the outskirts of Graz, felt bullied at the school and wanted revenge, though police have not confirmed this.

Neighbours and officials in the commuter town of Kalsdorf bei Graz, where he lived, described a withdrawn, slight man who generally wore a cap and headphones, covering himself up.

Of over a dozen local residents spoken to about the suspect by Reuters, few wanted to talk at all. Some said they had seen him, but none said they knew him.