On the open road

Police hunt for a phantom after gunshots

The argument escalated shortly before 11 a.m. in front of a bakery in Benzstraße in the Neue Heimat district of Linz, and the BMW driver was injured.

(Bild: Matthias Lauber/laumat.at)

A 38-year-old Chechen lies in the normal ward of the Kepler University Hospital in Linz after a shooting attack on him. The unknown shooter has been able to go into hiding for the time being. The trigger is said to have been a dispute in the drug scene. In the meantime, the criminal investigation department has arrested a suspect: He is a 43-year-old Syrian.

Shots fired in the street! At 11 a.m. on Tuesday, an argument between two men sitting in a BMW X5 escalated in the Neue Heimat district of Linz - or so it was originally reported. It has since emerged that the shooter was standing next to the car and fired through the half-opened rear window. The driver who was shot, a seriously injured 38-year-old Chechen, was first treated by eyewitnesses before being taken to MedCampus III at Kepler University Hospital with gunshot wounds to the shoulder. There, the father of five is being treated on the normal ward. He did not require an operation, but had suffered a straight shot through the shoulder.

Slim and black pistol
The unknown perpetrator was initially able to disappear despite an immediate search and the use of a police helicopter. They were looking for a 50 to 60 year old, 1.75 meter tall man with a half bald head and a gray sweater. He was slim and used a black pistol, the police said.

Alibi is being checked
There was little information from the investigators, but it finally leaked out that a suspect could be arrested thanks to witness statements. It is still unclear whether this suspect is really the perpetrator or whether he can be proven to be the perpetrator, and he has since been taken to Linz prison. The public prosecutor's office plans to apply for pre-trial detention.

It is assumed that the two men had come into conflict over drug deals. According to the authorities, not only the alleged perpetrator but also the victim were "not very cooperative".