Legal protection dispute

Attack on insurance company: “Thought he was shooting!”

On Tuesday, the rioter was sentenced to a fine.

(Bild: APA/FOTOKERSCHI.AT/ANTONIO BAYER)

A Croat (34) fired stones at the regional office of his insurance company - because of a legal protection dispute. Panic broke out among the employees. "It sounded like a gunshot!" The three women and their boss fled through a window onto a carport and were seriously injured. On Tuesday, the 34-year-old was sentenced in Graz.

The Croatian sat crestfallen before Judge Andreas Rom. "I did something really stupid. I'm really very sorry. But I argued with the insurance company about the legal protection, and then I snapped." - "He didn't expect to scare the staff like that," interjects his lawyer. 

"Why were there problems?" asks the judge. "I wanted to sue someone, but they didn't do anything," shrugs the defendant. He knew it wasn't clever anyway. "And do you always go for a walk with a stone in your pants?" - "Of course not," the Croatian laughs. "I picked up the stone from the street."

Do you always walk with a stone in your pants?

Richter Andreas Rom

Bild: Sepp Pail

"I was afraid for my life"
When the first stone crashed into the glass door, the staff thought it was a gunshot. "And then the man screamed. I was scared for my life because I didn't know what he had in his hand, maybe a bomb," says one of the young women. "They really gave me a huge fright," says the Styrian woman towards the accused.

She jumped out of a window onto the carport and climbed down the gutter. Her two colleagues and the regional manager also jumped out of the boss's window in panic when the second stone hit the glass door.

They really gave me a huge fright.

Eines der Opfer

Boss fell off the roof while fleeing
"And then I slipped on the roof in the Sahara dust," says the boss. The 56-year-old crashed onto the edge of the roof, where he broke his ribs before falling two and a half meters to the ground and suffering a compound fracture. The two colleagues who witnessed their supervisor's wild fall no longer dared to jump and waited on the roof for the police to arrive.

"I apologize. I'll make up for the damage," says the unemployed locksmith. "Maybe I'd rather pay in installments at first. When I get a job, I'll be able to pay more." 

Verdict: 4200 euro fine and 3000 euro award for pain and suffering. "I think that's a moderate sentence and I assume that they won't do it again," the judge explained. The defendant, who was hoping for community service, asked for three days to reflect. The verdict is not final.