Life-weary Viennese:

“I’ll blow myself up with grenades”

Explosion on Wednesday night in Ottakring, on Thursday a Pole tried to blow himself up with grenades (symbolic image).(Bild: LKA/NÖ-Raubgruppe)

Just one day after the explosion of a rigged spa, a therapist and the police in Vienna prevented something terrible from happening.

A phone call between a Polish man and his therapist led to a highly explosive police operation on Thursday! The 40-year-old, who lives in an apartment building in Vienna-Liesing, was having a conversation with his psychologist at around 4 pm when he suddenly announced that he no longer wanted to live. He was going to take two hand grenades to blow himself up and take his own life.

Therapist alerted the police
The therapist immediately gave his patient's address to the police in order to prevent a drama. The Liesing municipal police department arrived, as did the WEGA specialists. They managed to get the Polish man into the stairwell. At first he was cooperative, saying he meant no harm to anyone, but no longer wanted to live. However, when the man realized that his cellar compartment was being searched, he became aggressive and insulted the officers involved in the operation. He was overpowered and taken to a clinic.

Two grenades were actually discovered
According to Vienna police spokesman Markus Dittrich, the 40-year-old actually had two functional grenades in his cellar, which he claimed to have bought at a flea market. They were defused and taken away. Ammunition was also found, but no weapon.

It is hard to imagine what could have happened if the man, who was tired of life, had detonated the grenades in the block of flats. The case brings back memories of the large-scale operation in Vienna-Ottakring on Wednesday night. A Serbian man (47) had thrown objects out of the window, manipulated the gas boiler in his apartment and caused it to explode. As he stormed towards the officers with a weapon, the tenant was shot dead on the spot.