Owner and neighbors

Farm store thief pursued by owner and neighbors

Spectacular scenes unfolded on Saturday afternoon in Lans near Innsbruck: after a thief was caught red-handed in a farm store, the owner tried to lock him up. But the suspect managed to free himself and escape. Neighbors also took up the chase at a run and partly on bicycles ...

Shortly after 3.30 p.m., the 26-year-old owner noticed an unknown man tampering with the cash register in her farm store and apparently fishing money out of it. The woman immediately informed her husband, who was in the directly adjacent house.

Owner wanted to lock the perpetrator up
"The 34-year-old then immediately went to the farm store and closed the door. He wanted to keep the suspect in the store until the police arrived. However, the stranger managed to force the door open," the investigators describe. The owner then tried to detain the perpetrator, but he was able to break away and flee in the direction of the village center.

During the escape, the suspect lost the loot, which amounted to a mid-double-digit euro sum.

Die Polizei

The stranger had only managed to steal a two-digit euro amount. And he had lost this money during the escape.

The 34-year-old owner took up the chase and also alerted local residents to the crime "by shouting loudly". They also pursued the perpetrator - "partly on foot, partly on bicycles", according to the police.

Arrest and confession
The suspect was eventually caught up with in a field and stopped. The alleged perpetrator - a 40-year-old Polish man - was arrested. "During initial questioning, he confessed," explain the investigators. He will be charged at large.