"Everything has escalated"

“Shotgun man” after fleeing from court

The defendant is still convinced of his red light theory

(Bild: Eva Stockner, Krone KREATIV)

The "shotgun man" was on the run for days in February 2024. He was searched for across Europe. He was considered extremely dangerous because nobody knew what he was up to after he stabbed an acquaintance in Graz. He was finally caught by Cobra in Pörtschach am Wörthersee. On Monday, he stood trial for attempted murder.

He studied mathematics and was a respected university professor, but lost his job after coronavirus. So he took some time out. "I was a freelance artist," the Styrian explained to the jury on Monday, "I had enough money." He also set up an account for himself on a social media platform for the first time. "And that's when it escalated," he explains.

I can no longer mention certain names because I was visited in prison and now I'm not allowed to say anything about it.

Der 44-jährige Steirer

"The internet is dangerous"
It was about a woman's story that he doesn't want to talk about. But even the realities are probably pretty blurred at some point. "Yes, the internet is dangerous," he emphasizes. Eventually it got to the point where the former university professor posted the names of acquaintances on his page who he thought were members of a red-light ring. Including that of a 43-year-old man from Graz, with whom he has been friends for 20 years, and whom he visited with a shotgun, an axe and two knives. He smashed the front door and stabbed him in the face.

"It was just a frat-boy hit," laughs the 44-year-old. "If I had wanted to kill him, I would have preferred the shotgun. It was just a threat." - "The victim was missing half his cheek and that's just a threat?" Judge Andreas Lenz is stunned. - "He was back home after two days anyway." - "You wrestled with him. You could have hit other parts of his body with a twisting movement." - "Minor assault at most," shrugs the man.

"Very dangerous"
Public prosecutor Patricia Weber requested that the Styrian man be placed in hospital, as his delusions and schizophrenia made him very dangerous and further acts of violence were to be feared, as court expert Manfred Walzl explained.

The jury's decision was unanimous in the early afternoon: attempted murder. And they followed the psychiatric expert's recommendation for placement in a forensic-therapeutic center. The defendant asked for time to reflect. The committal is therefore not yet legally binding.