Major police operation

Shot fired: “That was extremely dangerous”

A notch in the paving stone still bears witness to the shot.(Bild: Einöder Horst)

The unplanned firing of a shot by a police officer during a change of duty during the large-scale bomb-threat operation in Linz on Wednesday shocked two women in a city center store. The life-threatening incident is not only causing them concern. The police are now having the shooter's assault rifle examined.

I was serving a customer when suddenly there was a real bang outside the store. We both flinched and even held each other's hands at the time because it was so frightening," says Petra Zellan (59), a sales assistant at the Dantendorfer luxury boutique on Linzer Promenade.

Mishap during a change of shift
At 2 p.m. on Wednesday, during the large-scale operation due to the bomb threat against the Akademisches Gymnasium, the police officers changed shifts in front of the store. A shot was fired from an assault rifle.

"Krone" editor Anna Jaschek shows the bullet hole.(Bild: Einöder Horst)

The projectile hit a granite paving stone, causing a large indentation. The Linz officer who suffered the life-threatening mishap was lucky, he was not hit by the ricochet.

Startled witness
"We looked outside - several police officers were standing together and looking at their weapons," reports eyewitness Petra Zellan: "But I only found out in the evening that a shot had gone off. In retrospect, I was scared again, it could have turned out much worse."

Witness Petra Zellan (59) heard the shot.(Bild: Einöder Horst)

According to the police, the incident is now being meticulously investigated. It is suspected that the gun had a defect. The public prosecutor's office will then receive an incident report.