"Police do nothing"

Rollator senior with knife against e-scooter driver

The attacker needs a rollator, but had one hand free for a knife and attacked the e-scooter rider in Linz

(Bild: dpa/Christoph Schmidt)

He did have one hand free! A pensioner in Linz pulled out a knife because he was so annoyed by cyclists and e-scooters driving illegally on sidewalks. He had it in his walker, which he relies on. And the attacker was serious - he told the police that he would stab again.

"The police won't do anything, that's why I took action" - a 65-year-old man from Linz, who feels repeatedly harassed and harassed by e-scooter riders on the sidewalk, took the law into his own hands. After all, he is dependent on a rollator himself and needs more space, which means he can't simply get out of the way.

Attack at shoulder height
It was not clear whether he had set off armed on Friday or just happened to have the 20-centimeter-long knife with him. In any case, the man from Linz reached for the blade on Friday morning when he was once again confronted by one of his enemies on the sidewalk in Hafenstraße. On the sidewalk, on an electric scooter. According to a witness, the pensioner attacked the young man at shoulder height with a knife. But the chosen victim was able to dodge and avoid injury.

I'll do it again if the police don't do more against cyclists and scooter riders on the sidewalks.

Der Pensionist zeigte sich nicht einsichtig.

Victim should please come forward
The victim apparently did not want another confrontation and continued on his way. However, the witness raised the alarm with the police, who were able to find and arrest the suspect a short time later. "I'll do it again if the police don't do more against cyclists and scooter riders on the sidewalks," threatened the man from Linz, who had a walking disability, but said that he had only wanted to scratch the victim.

The public prosecutor's office had the attacker taken to Linz prison and asked the victim to report to the police.

E-scooters are permitted on roads and cycle paths
The argument that e-scooters have no place on the sidewalk is correct; driving is prohibited here. Safety paths are also taboo for motorized scooters and pedestrian zones may only be used at walking pace if cycling is permitted there. In principle, e-scooters must be ridden on cycle paths where these are available. Otherwise, the road lanes are also intended for electric scooters.