The school has been out for at least a week, but students continued to come on Wednesday morning the day after the fatal school shootings in Austria shocked the country.
Instead of entering the modern high school building, they walked across the street to a sheltered gathering place, often surrounded by mourners, wealthy people and reporters.
“What really matters now is to talk, silence together, listen,” said Paul Nitche, an evangelical pastor who taught religion in schools and stood on the streets in front of a mourning area.
On Tuesday, a former student killed or fatally injured at least 10 people at school. This is Borg Dreierschzengas of Glaz, Austria's second largest quiet and wealthy city after Vienna. He later appeared to have committed suicide in the school bathroom, police said.
Police said the shooter legally obtained weapons, handguns and shotguns. On Wednesday, police said they found a pipe bomb while searching the shooter's home Tuesday afternoon.
It was one of the worst school shootings in Europe in the last decade.
Austrian Prime Minister Christian Stocker cancelled his appointment to travel to Glaz on Tuesday, and declared a three-day mourning day, including a moment of silence at 10am local time on Wednesday.
The news of the shooting shocked Austria, an alpine country with high gun ownership rates but relatively rare gun violence.
On Wednesday morning, a headline on the online site of Kronen Zeiton, the country's largest newspaper, declared, “The Day After the Rampage: Austria Crying with Glaz.”
State police said the gunman was 21 years old and had previously attended school but never graduated. Six of his victims were women and three were male. Although the authorities have not released their name or age, citing the privacy law. Another victim, the teacher, later died in the hospital.
Outside the school, withered shrines of candles, flowers and stuffed animals lined up around the school. Investigators and firefighters were still in and out of the property, but otherwise the school building was dark and quiet.
Classes are open for the rest of the week as school officials decide how to proceed. Summer vacation begins in early July, and many alumni have not yet taken their final exams before going to university.
“We can't be speechless. It doesn't seem like this is coming from anywhere,” said Simone Saxon, 20, a college student who spent his whole life at Glaz. He lives near the school and was among those gathered outside on Wednesday. “That's what you imagine, or what happens in major cities and the US, but will it happen here?” he added.
Pastor Nitche was alone in the classroom when he heard the shot. His first instinct was to wait in hiding. “It was quiet as if it was midnight,” he said. “Everyone was dead – clever.”
After it seemed safe, he ran out into the hallway, where he said he saw a gunman shooting it and trying to enter a locked door. As he ran, he saw the body of one of the victims, a young girl, and continued running until he saw the police attack.
Police say the gunman committed suicide in the school bathroom.
Berkes Harrich, 39, who lives across from school, was preparing for work on Wednesday. She tried to keep the news from her three children, but she said they had heard about it on social media, and they were upset and scared.
“I've always said, the schools here are not safe,” Halich said. “It's like a shopping centre because people come and go.”
