Videos as evidence

Series of fires in Klagenfurt: firebug caught!

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(Bild: thinkstockphotos.de (Symbolbild))

The firefighters have been called upon in recent weeks: First a wooden hut burned down, then another and finally the Floriani had to fight a fire in an empty farm building. It is now clear who is responsible.

It was 13 August when a wooden hut in a forest clearing started to burn at around 5 pm. Just a few days later, another hut caught fire and burned to the ground! Even less time passed between the third fire nearby, to which an empty farm building fell victim.

By then at the latest, the police knew they were on the trail of a firebug. After several clues and intensive investigations, the mystery was solved by the criminal investigation department of the Klagenfurt municipal police command with the support of the Pischeldorfer Straße police station.

Young people responsible for fires
In the end, the trail led to a group of young people - all between the ages of 14 and 18. "The young people confessed during questioning", according to the provincial police department. They are said to have admitted to causing the fires by lighting hay stored in the buildings with a lighter.

Fires set "out of coolness" and filmed
"The individual acts were filmed with the video camera of a cell phone and shared via a Snapchat group," continued the police, who have also already determined the motives: "The motive is likely to have been boredom and coolness, although the young people were obviously not aware of the possible extent of the fires when they committed the crimes."

The young people, who have not been conspicuous to date, will be reported to the public prosecutor's office in Klagenfurt in accordance with their respective responsibilities. The amount of damage caused is not yet known.